Unfated
by RansomeNote
Summary: The Chūnin Exams was not a place for weaklings. As Sakura struggles to carve her own destiny and protect those she holds dear, she will soon discover the true horrors of the ninja life and the scars that they will leave on her. Sakura-centric. NejiSaku. Previously called The Blossom Beast of Konoha.
1. Undernourished Blossom

**Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto and I own nothing but the plot of this story.**

 **Note: Just so you guys know, there is going to be a pairing much later in the story, but that is still TBD.**

Sakura had been both ecstatic and nervous when she had first heard about the Chūnin Exams. She wanted to show everyone – especially Sasuke-kun – the reason she was named one of the top in the class.

Looking back on her excitement, Sakura almost wanted to laugh. Top of her class? There was no way she even had the right to call herself such a thing. Even though she hated to admit it, Ino-Pig was probably a better kunoichi than her. At least she had some techniques that could prove _useful_ to her team.

Sakura knew that she had been the exact opposite of useful during their mission to the Land of the Waves. All she could do was scream when she thought her sensei had been ripped to shreds and cry when she thought that Sasuke was dead. She had not even been able to carry out her own job of protecting Tazuna correctly. In the end, she had to rely on her teammates to help her, because there was absolutely nothing she could do to stand up to such powerful opponents, and she was quickly enraptured in fear.

Fear did not have a place in the shinobi world. If that fear had overtaken her in a solo mission, she would have been dead.

She did not want to admit all of that to herself, but the back of her mind kept telling her it was true. The inner-self she had stashed inside her mind taunted her about every aspect: her looks, her affection, her abilities, and most importantly, her values.

 ** _How useless can you get? You only care about saving your own skin._**

 ** _You have no right to fight for Sasuke-kun's affection. He would never be interested in someone as weak as you._**

 ** _You should just give up on being a ninja, just like your parents have always said. You are not cut out to be anything more than just a dainty little damsel that has big dreams but does nothing about them._**

Sakura felt an amalgam of emotions as she allowed her inner self to berate her. She was usually stubborn, and she would formulate some sort of argument in her mind to dispel everything that her mind was trying to tell her. However, she could not come up with anything. She had no redeeming qualities as a kunoichi to keep her alive on the battlefield.

It was true that her parents had never wanted her to be a shinobi, but she knew that on Sasuke's quest for power, he would only want someone who was capable by his side. She wanted to be that person. However, that dream just looked like a circle she had been running in for many years with no end. Despite becoming a ninja, Sasuke barely spared her a glance. How could she be so stupid to think that he would fall in love with her?

 ** _Sasuke-kun would never like you. How can you live with the fact that he and Naruto almost died and you had done nothing but stand there?_**

But that was just it. She was barely living with that fact. The pain in her chest at the thought of losing the very person who she had been in love with for a major part of her life stung. She would have cried and screamed about how unfair life was if her teammates had just left her on the mission because they had to protect themselves. However, after a few days of contemplation, she realized that she would have supported their decision wholeheartedly.

Her weakness was the very reason that she was in the situation she was in. She sat on a rock on the outskirts of the village, crying her eyes out at how embarrassingly weak she was. She knew it was an immature thing to do, especially because if she wanted to achieve something, she had to actually do something about it. However, crying always seemed to be the easiest thing for her to do. It was her solace that she could close up within herself because she always expected to be comforted and praised afterwards.

Sakura buried her face in her hands, letting her long pink locks overtake her features. She had been so selfish to think that she had been strong just because she went against her parent's wishes and became a ninja. She thought that if she could pass the academy, then all of her problems would be solved and she would be a respected shinobi, because what kids learned in the academy _obviously_ applied to real life.

But no, the academy did not tell her about the tragedy that went on outside the village. The academy did not tell her about the bloodshed that came with being a ninja. The academy definitely did not tell her that she could lose everyone she held dear with just a single swipe of the sword.

She also thought of herself as pathetic for still wanting to pin the blame on someone or something else. She wanted to blame the academy and Iruka-sensei for not teaching her what really happened in the lives of ninja. She wanted to blame her parents for not being able to convince her out of being a ninja, even though her action was of her own volition. She wanted to blame Naruto for not being more of a dead-last than her. A part of her even wanted to blame Sasuke, for making her fall for him and care about him so deeply that he made her cry for him.

Sakura shook her head to try to rid those thoughts from her mind. If there was anyone who should take the blame, it had to be herself. All the things she did were her own choices. The choices of a naïve little girl who thought that being a ninja just meant fighting for love. But she could not think that anymore.

If she did, then she would end up in the ground like many others had before her. Except her name wouldn't be carved onto the Memorial Stone, because she had done absolutely nothing to be remembered by.

On another note, she wanted Sasuke and, even though it felt a little weird to consolidate it within her mind, Naruto to move on without her and take the Chūnin Exams. However, Sakura was nothing if not inquisitive. Once she had heard about the Chūnin Exams from Kakashi, she had immediately researched the topic to see if she could find any information that could help to her advantage. She had not found anything useful about the exam itself, other than it changed every year to avoid the new generation of genin from cheating. However, there was another, depressing fact that she had found.

Kakashi had lied to them. The Chūnin Exams _required_ a three-man squad in order to participate. Their sensei knew that Sasuke would be so determined to train for the upcoming test that he would start training right away and that Naruto would probably never walk into a library unless the situation was dire, but he seemed to have forgotten to calculate what Sakura's reaction would be to the news. Either that, or he just didn't care.

He probably stated that the exam was up to the individual to avoid putting too much pressure on her. She knew that Sasuke and Naruto would try to persuade her to just join, even if she did not become a Chūnin. It would not be a matter of what she wanted. However, Naruto and Sasuke had dreams to achieve and goals to accomplish. She had nothing that she was working towards, other than winning over Sasuke to make sure that Ino-Pig or none of his other fangirls would get to him.

No matter how selfish she might be, she would never think about hindering their goals. She supposed that this thought was also a bit selfish, considering the reason she did not want to be the one to make them stray from their goals was because she did not want Sasuke to hate her.

Sakura wailed pathetically because that's what she was: pathetic. When people looked at her, if they did not turn away from utter embarrassment that she called herself a kunoichi, then they looked at her as a little girl who just didn't understand the world around her. And it was true, she did not. And that fact just made her cry harder.

"When a youthful cherry blossom is crying, I cannot help but wonder why." A voice spoke from above her. Sakura gasped audibly as she looked up at the boy who had stopped to talk to her. Taking in his appearance, she immediately staggered back a little bit. The boy, who she assumed was about her age, had bowl-cut black hair that glistened with some sort of gel, bit, round eyes, and the most humongous eyebrows she had ever seen, as if someone had pasted two poor creatures to his face. However, the most appalling thing was that he was wearing green spandex that clung tightly to his body. It did not help that he was drenched in sweat either.

 _This guy looks like a total weirdo!_ Sakura thought.

She heard her inner self snicker from within her. **_Excuse you, but you seem to have a forehead that could accommodate those eyebrows perfectly._** Sakura could not help but blanch at her consciousness's comment. **_Don't be so quick to judge, brat. You're nothing better than the bullies who used to tease you about your looks._** Sakura looked down in distraught. Her inner was right. She really was nothing better than the means girls who used to bully her

The boy was still looking at her expectantly as she stared at him like he was some sort of alien. Sakura was quick to change her expression and wipe away her tears, even though they had already been blatantly obvious.

"I'm fine…thank you." Sakura said stiffly. Even though she had realized that she shouldn't judge the boy based on appearance when she barely knew him, she could not help but feel uncomfortable.

"If that is the case, then I believe that you would not be expending your youth through your tears." He stated, crossing his arms a little bit before kneeling down to her height. It was then that she got a true glimpse at his eyes instead of what was above them. His large black orbs held concern for her; concern she did not deserve in the slightest. "I will understand if you do not wish to tell me anything because you do not know me, but I just want you to know that the power of youth is still on your side, so there is no reason for you to be sad." He said.

 _What is it with this guy and youth?_ Sakura thought as she internally raised an eyebrow.

But then, Sakura had a slight epiphany about what he just said. Though it was oddly worded, he was basically telling her that whatever her problem was could be fixed. She looked at the Konoha symbol that was wrapped around his waist. _So he's a shinobi too?_ Sakura thought to herself.

"I'm sorry…wh-what's your name?" Sakura stammered out as she sniffed a little bit. The boy did not seem to have expected her to ask him that, but his shocked face immediately turned into one of happiness as he shot her the most blindingly brilliant smile she had ever seen. Literally, she thought she might have gone blind.

"The name is Rock Lee. And what is yours, youthful flower?" He asked politely, still kneeling before her.

She knew that he was a stranger, but she could not help but let her guard down a little. Despite first impressions, he seemed to be very sweet. "Haruno Sakura." She decided to take initiative and stick her hand out for him to shake. He seemed even more elated, if that were possible, by her gesture and immediately took her hand in his wrapped ones, shaking it enthusiastically. Although it hurt a little bit, she could not help but find his eccentric actions amusing.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl." He cried out in admiration. Sakura could not help but blush. She had always wished for those words to come from Sasuke, but this by seemed to say it genuinely, and it made her heart swell. "Now that we are acquainted, can I trouble you to know what had been on your mind?"

Sakura froze for a little bit and hesitated. Even though he seemed to be a trustworthy person, she did not feel like sharing her faults with just anyone. However, she did not know who else to turn to. She knew that she could not confront her team about it – she would be too embarrassed. She did not want to tell her parents about it, because they would just tell her that they knew that she was not cut out to be a ninja and she should just quit immediately. She really did not have anyone else in her life that she could tell anything to, since she had severed her bond with Ino many years ago.

Sakura looked into the eyes of the boy before her. Perhaps he would be the one who she could entrust her secrets to.

Sakura flicked her head to the side to indicate that she wanted him to sit next to her on the rock, feeling a little bad that he had been kneeling down the whole time just to make it look like he was not towering over her. Lee immediately scurried over to the sport she designated, looking at her with manifested excitement. She had the inkling that not many people told him things, and that people probably even excluded him, kind of like people did to her. She couldn't help but feel a slight twinge in her heart. She was not just talking to a random stranger who she had just met. She was talking to someone who might be able to understand her.

She began to narrate all the events that had happened to her, starting from as early as she had entered the academy. She even told him about her silly belief that she was the top of her class because of her grades. She left out the parts about her infatuation with Sasuke, but she talked about him with an unconscious fondness that probably gave her away. She did not go into too much detail about what happened in the Wave, but she just told him that she had been utterly useless and was not able to do anything for her team.

"In the end, I've been nothing but a failure trying to hide from the truth. There's no way I can become a strong shinobi, just like my parents said. Now the Chūnin Exams are coming up, and I can't let down Sasuke…and Naruto." She quickly added afterwards. After saying all that she had to, she took a deep breath. It actually helped a great deal to have someone to talk to.

Sakura looked at Lee apprehensively to gauge his reaction. He sat with his eyes closed and his arms crossed in a deeply contemplative position. She bit her lip, wondering what he was going to say to her, if he was going to say anything at all. Perhaps he was also disgusted by how cowardly she had acted.

 _No…he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do anything like that._ Sakura thought to herself as she studied the boy's features.

"Sakura-san, I'm about to tell you something." Lee said as he opened his eyes. He did not look at her, though, and by the intense stare he was giving the tree in front of them, she knew why. He didn't want to scare her off. "I was born without the ability to use ninjutsu nor genjutsu. I am a pure taijutsu user." He said simply. At first, Sakura raised her eyebrow at the significance of this, wondering how it related to her problem. However, it then hit her that he must have been discriminated against by the other kids. He must have been called weak for not being able to pull of the simple jutsus that even Naruto could do to a certain extent. He must have looked like such a failure to others. Just like she did.

"Oh, Lee. I'm so…" Before she could finish, she was cut off.

"However, I swore to myself that I would become the best shinobi I could be without the use of ninjutsu or genjutsu." He said. "It was hard, and everyone was telling me that I could not do it. But I knew I could prove them wrong. I've worked my entire life to achieve my goal and become the strongest taijutsu user ever. No matter what other people told me, no matter what other people did to discourage me and tell me that I was delusional, I've never deterred from my goal. And that is because…" Lee paused a little bit before he turned his head quickly to look Sakura in the eyes. Although she was a little startled, she kept his gaze. "I have faith that I can do it!" Lee said, pumping a fist in the air for emphasis. Sakura could not help but smile at his ambition.

Lee then turned to her once again, looking at her dead in the eye. "Now, Sakura-san, do _you_ believe you can do whatever you want to do?" He asked her.

Sakura had to think about this for a moment. She did not have a clue about what she thought. She had spent her whole life lying to herself that she was something special and that she was strong, and her sudden revelation had taken a heavy toll on her self-esteem.

"I…don't know. I don't think so." She said truthfully. "I have nothing going for me. Even you have taijutsu to fall back on. There's nothing I have perfected."

Lee put one of his bandaged hands to his chin. "That may be true, but from what you have just told me, you excel at intellect." He deduced.

"Not really…" Sakura trailed off.

"Do not think like that. You have to exploit any strengths that you have. If you had top grades in the academy, it must mean that you have proficient analytical skills. You can use that to your advantage. I do not have that ability myself, but I know for a fact that it can make for a dangerous weapon in battle." He said.

That made her feel slightly better. She did not want to think of herself with a big head anymore, but she could safely say that her intelligence was above the average person's. That was somewhere to start, at least.

"And also," Lee continued, "taijutsu is something that can be worked up to. Even if you do not have good physical capabilities at the moment, you can always improve. While the same can be said for genjutsu and ninjutsu, a person usually has to have an aptitude for those things." He explained.

"Yeah, I guess. But I don't know if I can learn taijutsu on my own. I'll lose my drive very fast and give up." She said as she sniffed a little, feeling her eyes line with tears. She cursed at herself internally. She did not want her new friend to think she was weak because she started crying.

Suddenly, Lee sprung up from his position on the rock. For a moment, Sakura was afraid that he was about to leave, but that fear quickly subsided when Lee stood upright in front of her with his hands on his hips. Sakura's jade eyes met his black ones, which were filled with determination.

"If that is the case, then I would be happy to be your youthful motivator." He said, and Sakura could have sworn that she saw a small fire blaze in his eyes.

"You would?" Sakura asked. She stood up to meet him, noticing that he was slightly taller than her.

Lee shot her one of his winning smiles. "Yes! I would be honored to work with you! I know how hard it is to become strong on one's own, but even I had a mentor to teach me." Lee said. His eyes then lit up with excitement. "I'll introduce you to Gai-sensei! He would be more than happy to help a youthful blossom such as yourself!" He exclaimed as if he was a genius for thinking of the idea.

"Gai-sensei?" Sakura asked. She had never heard of him before.

Lee grinned zealously. "He is only the coolest, strongest, most experienced shinobi in all of Konoha!" He exclaimed. _Wow, Lee sure talks highly of this 'Gai-sensei'. I wonder what kind of ninja he is._ Sakura thought. _I think it would be great to train with him, but I hope that it does not distract me from my own team._ She contemplated.

She realized that she was depriving Lee of her response that he was so desperate to have. "I would love to train with you." She answered honestly. Lee looked happy enough to do a little dance. "But…" She started, making Lee pause. "I don't want it to distract me from my own team. They're my top priority." Sakura said.

Lee nodded in acknowledgement. "Of course. I understand. We can train together when you are not with your team." He said. "But just to warn you, my regiment is harsh, and if you truly want to get stronger, then I won't hold back. You will have to do, or at least attempt to do, everything that I say." He said with conviction.

Sakura bit her lip, wondering if she would be up to the challenge. Her inner came back, telling her that no matter what she did, she would never become stronger and she would just be wasting poor Lee's time. She should just quit while she was ahead.

But that was exactly what everyone expected her to do. She did not want to be to person who just sat down and cried because life had not blessed her with the skills of others. If she wanted to look like a respected shinobi, given her circumstances, she would just have to work that much harder.

"Like I said before, I would love to train with you." Sakura repeated with a new resolve. What Lee was offering to her was an opportunity that did not come every day, and it was just the opportunity she had to take if she wanted to become who she wanted to be.

Lee smiled and nodded at her newfound drive. "Very well then. What time is your team meeting up tomorrow?" He asked.

"Kakashi-sensei told us to meet him at nine, which means that he will probably be there by eleven." Sakura replied. Lee did not question what she just said, even though she did not provide any background information.

"Very well. Meet me at Training Ground 5 at seven o'clock. Please bring something that you are comfortable in running in." He said. Sakura nodded. "Alright then, if that is settled, then I must be off. I have two hundred laps around the village I must do before noon, and I'm already behind schedule. Goodbye, and let the power of youth be with you!" Sakura did not get time to reply before he sprinted off. However, before he got too far, she called out to him.

"Lee!" She yelled. Hearing his name called, Lee immediately turned around to face her, jogging in place as he did so. "Thank you!" She said sincerely. Lee just gave her a salute before running off again.

Sakura smiled as she stared after him, already feeling so much better than she had a little while ago. She had hope that with her new friend's help, she would be able to achieve what she wanted to. She could not let her comrades down any more than she already had. It was time for the malnourished bud to finally blossom.

Sakura began to make her way back to the village, a smile on her face. But before she had made it a couple steps into her journey, she turned back in the direction that Lee went in with wide eyes.

 _Wait…did he just say two_ hundred _laps!?_ Sakura thought in amazement and a little bit of fear.

She heard Inner cackling within her head. **_Good luck, kid._**

What had she just gotten herself into?

 **Hello everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read this story. It is my first time ever writing a Naruto Fanfiction, even though I love the series to death. I've always enjoyed Sakura-progression fics because it is a great way to have another take on a character that could have had so much more potential.**

 **If you guys could leave a review telling me what you thought, I would really appreciate it! I always love to hear what the readers think, and it really motivates me to write.  
**

 **Anyway, I hope that you all are having a fantastic day wherever you are! See you guys next time!  
**


	2. No Excuses

**Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto, and I claim no part of it except for this story.**

Sakura was pacing about her room half-an-hour before she was designated to meet Lee at the training grounds. Taking his advice, she was dressed in black ninja capris and a bright red tank top that had the Haruno clan circle on her back. Her hair was tied into a neat high ponytail that cascaded down her back before it ended mid-way. It was quite a significant change from her usual attire, which admittedly limited her mobility. She could not help but feel a little odd by what she was wearing, but she decided if she wanted to change herself, a change in wardrobe was a good place to start.

But she was not having a problem with anything she was wearing, but the implication of her training. Even though she had not even started, she was doubting her decision to train with Lee because even though he seemed strong and wanted to help her, she was afraid to making a fool of herself in front of him.

However, it was this fear that was holding her back from becoming stronger.

Sakura plopped herself on the bed and crossed her fingers as she bobbed her leg up and down. She twiddled her thumbs nervously at her predicament. She had never been physically strong, and there was no way she could make a significant improvement in time for the Chūnin exams, which were in three weeks.

Sakura squeezed her hands together. _Come on, coward. You have to do this! How will you even be able to look your team in the face if you don't?_ She thought to herself. She thought of how she would disappoint Sasuke and Kakashi, and even a disappointed Naruto left a bad pain in her chest.

She then realized what little credit she gave the "dead-last" of the team. He did not deserve that title, but he took it in place of her. He might not have had much in terms of ninjutsu, but he had the courage and willpower that she never had, plus the believe that he could beat anyone he aspired to, even someone who was obviously leagues ahead of him, like Sasuke.

In the end, Sakura saw that she had mocked Naruto for her exact predicament, except he had taken it differently. He had taken every single negative comment that people had given it and used it to fuel his resolve to achieve his dream. That was something she was hoping to do: turn what people said about her to her strength. Sakura had no right to criticize him for doing something better than she could ever do.

Although he could be annoying, a little crude, and pretty moronic at times, he was still someone who never gave up and fought for the people he cared about. Sakura did not know why she had realized it so late, but _she_ was one of those people who he cared about, and she barely even bat an eye towards him. In a life where reliable people are difficult to find, she could not push someone who had so willingly trusted her unconditionally.

Uzumaki Naruto had the qualities of a great Hokage.

She knew that she had to start acting more like a teammate to him. It was going to be hard, because he still acted like an idiot and she had low tolerance for people who did that, but she knew she had to start seeing her teammates more like friends if they were able to form any kind of strong bond. Even though she admitted in her mind that she would always care for Sasuke more than the rest, she knew that it should not come at the cost of anyone else on her team.

Sakura was broken out of her thoughts when she noticed the time on the clock. It was ten minutes to seven.

She quickly rushed around her room to tidy a few things up. She slipped on her ninja sandals and gathered her weapons pouch, since she was not sure what Lee had in store for her. She could not be too prepared.

Sakura then rushed over to the mirror and started to prim up her appearance, making sure that her hair was smoothed down perfectly, her lips were well moisturized, and she was looking presentable.

When Sakura started to check the fit of her clothes on her body, she realized her mistake. Ninja could not care so much about their looks. When Haku and Zabuza fell in battle, they didn't care about looking "presentable". The stereotype that kunoichi had to be graceful but powerful was a horrible farce. They were like that even though they did not care about their appearance. The reason they were graceful was because they put faith in their power, not in their beauty. All her life, she had cared about what others thought about her appearance, and nothing else seemed to matter.

A ninja's true way was to not care about what others thought. It was to fight for what one believed in.

Before she could fully examine herself in the mirror, she stopped and looked herself in the eyes. For the first time, she saw a doll staring back at her. Not implying that she was beautiful, but that everyone was trying so hard to circumvent her to make sure that she would not break. She had been pampered her whole entire life to believe that appearance was the only important thing in life. However, she now knew that was not the case.

Suddenly, the doll's emerald eyes started to narrow at her in slight disgust. She saw the doll's fist clenched as she reigned it against her. Sakura almost wanted to quiver away under that intense glare, but she kept herself fixated on the green orbs that she had stared into almost every single day. But this time, they looked different. They looked…almost angry.

The raised fist came toward Sakura with an intent to punch her right in the chest. Then, before Sakura knew what was happening, the human-sized mirror had toppled over and smashed into many little pieces with a loud sound accompanying it. Sakura had to back up to avoid getting her feet cut.

She looked at what she had done to the very reflective source that she had spent hours in front of for years. She had no idea what had come over her to do such a thing. The punch she had given it was not strong enough to crack the glass on its own, but the force was sufficient enough to knock it over so that it shattered. She could not believe that she had just destroyed something that had meant so much to her. She started to tear her hands through her hair, messing it up a little bit in her frenzy. Her parents would be furious. Perhaps if she just sat them down with a nice cup of tea (because they really loved their tea) and told them that it was just an accident, they would buy her a new one.

But looking at the glass shards beneath her, she found herself wanting that new mirror less. Though it was not the cause of all of her problems, it had still caused some of them. The constant worry about her appearance hindered her from practicing her skills, and it was best to cut the weed off at the roots.

She could survive without a piece of glass to stare at herself in, and she was going to prove it.

Sakura looked at the clock and saw that it was only three minutes away from when her appointment with Lee was. She really had to hustle if she wanted to make it on time.

Before she made her way out of her room, she stopped in the doorsill, looking back at the broken vanity.

 _Seven years bad luck, huh Inner?_ Sakura asked herself. Inner smirked and nodded.

 ** _More work for us, then._** Inner replied with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. Sakura could not help but smile a bit in agreement.

* * *

Sakura would be lying if she said that she didn't feel a little bigheaded about the events that happened that morning. Her breaking of the mirror might have symbolized a change in her attitude, but her physicality would not change as fast. Her first training session with Lee proved that.

She had ran all the way to the training ground, but she still ended up a few minutes late. When she got there, she saw Lee doing some push-ups on his thumbs – something she thought only happened in books – while an older man hovered over him, coaching him on his form and keeping track of the number that he had completed.

Sakura's assumption that Lee looked up to his sensei proved to be one hundred percent correct, which was evident just by their clothing. Lee looked like an exact replica of his sensei. Same bowl-cut hair, same green spandex suit, and upon closer inspection, same bushy eyebrows.

As Sakura approached, Lee immediately shot up to greet her. Despite being drenched in sweat and looking as if he had just run across the Land of Fire and back, he still had the energy to smile brilliantly at her.

"Sakura-san! I am so happy for you to have made it!" Lee said as he made his way over to her.

"Sorry I'm a little late. I was…having a bit of trouble with my mirror." Sakura ended lamely. Lee just nodded his head as if he had understood exactly what she had been through.

"It is no trouble at all. The day has just begun! Come, I would like you to meet Gai-sensei." He said as he quickly took her hand and dragged her towards the older version of him with such force that it looked as though she was flying behind him. When Lee stopped abruptly in front of his sensei, Sakura stumbled forward a little bit to regain her balance. "Gai-sensei! I have met the youthful blossom who I have told you about." Lee said as he motioned to her. Sakura raised her hand in a shy greeting.

Contrary to her reticent hello, the older man, who Lee had dubbed Gai-sensei, gave her a smile and a thumbs up that mimicked his student's. "Sakura-kun, if I am correct? The power of youth shines brightly in your eyes!" He exclaimed.

Sakura just nodded, a little unsure of what to say. _Seriously, what is it with these guys and youth?_

"You are Kakashi's student, yes?" He asked her. Sakura nodded. "Ah, my long-time rival. He and I go way back to our academy days." Gai said as he put a hand to his chin. "Is he still tardy to all of his meetings?" Gai asked.

"He's not just like that with us? I thought it was because he didn't like us. He always came up with some lame excuse like that he was lost…"

"…on the road of life?" Gai finished. Sakura nodded, amazed at how spot-on he was. "That's Kakashi for you!" Gai said with his eyes closed and a wide grin. "Anyway, Lee told me that you are trying to improve your physical prowess. We would be honored if you trained with us, Sakura-kun."

"The honor is all mine. But just to warn you, I have very little experience in rigorous training." Sakura said, scratching the back on her neck as it started to heat up in embarrassment.

"I see. Lee!" He called out to his student. Lee immediately stiffened his position and stood upright, as if a sergeant had just called out an order to his soldier. "This will be a great learning experience for you as well. Part of being able to use your power is being able to control it to the point of a beginner." Gai-sensei instructed. Lee's eyes shined in admiration for his mentor as crocodile tears started to rush in a stream down his face. Sakura just stared at him, a little concerned.

"Gai-sensei is so wise! I will do as you ask of me, sensei! I promise to make you proud!" Lee cried zealously.

"Oh, Lee."

"Gai-sensei."

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!" The two cried as they hugged each other tightly, a sunset appearing in the background to shine a beautiful light over the master and the student.

Sakura had to rub her eyes a couple of times at what she was seeing. It was seven in the morning. Where had the sunset come from?

 _Is this some sort of genjutsu?_ Sakura asked herself as she continued to rub her eyes.

"Oh no! Do you have sand in your eyes, Sakura-san?" Lee asked her. When Sakura stopped rubbing her eyes, the sunset was gone, and Gai and Lee just stared at her worriedly as if their spectacle had never happened.

Seriously…what had she gotten herself into?

"Enough dawdling! Line up, my youthful students!" Gai-sensei called. Lee immediately stood attentive, and Sakura just slowly lined her feet up with his. "Because Sakura-kun is new to our regiment, we will start her off on a beginner level. Five laps around the village for a warm up. No breaks!" He ordered.

 _Five!?_ She could barely run a half-mile without tiring out.

"Hai, Gai-sensei. Come along, Sakura-san!" Lee said as he took off towards the border of the village. Sakura watched in awe at the speed and endurance he ran at. She could not help but admire his resilience.

"That means you too, Sakura-kun." Gai-sensei said expectantly as he watched her stare after Lee with a dumbfounded face. Even though he was pleased to have someone recognize his student's abilities, the training session was supposed to be about her.

Realizing her delay, she quickly bowed in apology to the Jōnin and ran off after Lee, at a notably slower pace. Gai frowned to himself when he watched her leave. He was more than happy to train her, but Kakashi was capable of training her himself. Gai wondered to himself why Sakura had not gone to him.

Did his eternal rival even know about the blossom's goal?

* * *

Sakura's lungs had never burned so much in her life. She had barely gotten through her first lap before she felt like the contents of her stomach were about to resurface. She tried her best to breathe through her nose and out through her mouth, but her lethargy was starting to catch up with her.

"L-Lee…I don't think I can go on any longer." Sakura said as she dropped to her knees on the dirt path, panting from the lack of oxygen. She cringed at what Lee's reaction might be to her lack of ambition. She did not know how he was even able to keep going at his normal energy. She felt as if she had just ran a marathon.

Sakura was met with a pleasant surprise when Lee jogged next to her and squatted down. He put a hand on her shoulder, his face soft and understanding. "Get up, Sakura-san." He said to her. His voice held no trace of annoyance that Sasuke's might have when they were training, and it was not filled with desperate cheerfulness like Naruto's. It was filled with a sense of sympathy, but not the kind that tried to belittle her.

Sakura took deep breaths to get her body to stop aching from the lack of air. "I-I don't think I can." Sakura breathed out. "I'm so sorry Lee. I know you were excited to take me on as your student." She said as she buried her face in her hands. "I'm really not cut out to be a ninja. I can't help but give up too easily." She said.

"But you cannot use that as an excuse." Lee said. "It is easy to give up, but if everyone did that, then no one would become stronger. Look up there, Sakura-san." Lee said as he pointed to Hokage Rock, where all of their previous Hokage's faces stood prominently for everyone to see as they watched over the village. Sakura looked at the highly respected faces as Lee continued. "All those men up there had earned their position through hard work and dedication. When our village was at risk, they gave their lives to ensure its safety. If they had given up, then none of us would be here." He then turned back to Sakura, who was still staring at the mountain. "Giving up was not an option for them, and even though we are not living in the same situations as them, we cannot think of advocating the behavior they fought against." Lee stood up, making Sakura follow him with his gaze.

"But they were all so much stronger than I am. I just come from a civilian family who has no means of being…" Sakura started.

"Sakura-san, I think you will find it more beneficial if you don't try to think of reasons of why you can't do this. Instead, think of why you can." Lee said, looking down at her with a smiling face. "I believe you can do it, so you should too." Lee said with one of his toothy smiles.

Sakura looked down at her hands on the ground. She clenched her fists together, taking some of the dirt into her palm. Lee was right, of course. Giving up would not only be disrespecting him, but everything the Hokage had risked their lives to protect. She loved her village, and she believed in her mind that she would do anything to protect it. With how she was at the moment, there was nothing she could do. It was time to prove that she could also be a protector of the village she held dear.

Lee smiled as he recognized the revelation that Sakura was having. He knew what it was like to want to give into what other people said and to just believe that nothing was going to improve no matter how much effort was put in. But he was living proof that the notion was false, and the sooner that Sakura understood that, the sooner the barrier would be lifted for her to actually begin her training.

Lee outstretched a hand to help her up. She looked at the hand that had intruded her peripheral vision. She could not help but look up at her friend with elation. She had never met anyone more understanding and concerned about her wellbeing as a ninja. But she could not let him carry a burden for her. She knew that to get stronger, the first person she had to prove her worth to was the person who had stepped up to help her.

For the first time since she had known Sasuke, he was not a top priority in her mind.

Sakura looked at Lee's hand with a genuine smile as she just shook her head. She raised herself from the ground and took his hand in both of hers, clutching it tightly.

"Thank you…Lee-san." She said, adding the honorific to his name. She needed to acknowledge him as her superior as he guided her through her training. He deserved every ounce of respect she could produce from the fibers of her being. Taking her on was in itself a challenging feat, but Lee decided that she was worth it.

Now she had to prove to him that he was right.

Sakura released his hand and gave him one last smile before she started jogging again. Her legs still hurt, and her body still screamed for her to stop, but she kept going. No matter if her pace was slower than she wanted it to be, she still never gave up the race. She would reach the finish line, collapsed lungs or not.

* * *

Sakura had finished her five laps and returned to the training ground with sweat dripping down her forehead as if she had just taken a swim. Lee jogged casually beside her, not looking even the slightest bit tired. She could tell that there were many moments where he wanted to race ahead of her and encourage her to pick up the pace, but he didn't. He stayed with her through her battle.

He had already proved to be a fantastic teacher in her eyes.

Sakura laid back against a tree stump as she took a shaky sip from her water canister. The cooling liquid was a welcome sensation to soothe her chest and her breathing. Her face broke out in a small smile as her body started to calm itself. Throughout her training, Sakura had small thoughts about how that run would be the end of her and that she would never be able to finish.

One run was too little to change anything about herself physically, but she definitely realized that the first step in overcoming her weakness was to not be so dramatic. It was not going to be the end of the world just because her legs were tired or if she was having trouble breathing. No, those were just obstacles that had to be overcome, and her pessimistic thoughts did not help in the slightest.

She looked over to where Lee and Gai were talking to each other, and based on the not-so-furtive glances towards her, she knew that Lee was describing to his sensei about her capabilities. She got up and started to make her way towards them, ready for an analysis or an explanation on what she had to do to improve. She expected Gai to shake his head in slight disappointment or to breathe a heavy sigh to indicate that she had a long way to go.

Instead, the bushy-browed sensei looked straight at her, catching her glance. She wanted to close her eyes to avoid the pitiful glance that she was sure he would give her. But, like a lot of other things leading up to that point, Sakura was wrong.

Gai held up his thumb and gave her a curt nod, as if he was…proud of her. How could he do something like that? She had just started, so she had made absolutely no progress at all, and the only thing that she had shown was that she had absolutely no stamina whatsoever.

When Sakura had approached them, Lee looked at her with an eye-squinting smile, one that was so genuine that it made her feel so guilty that she almost gave up on him. Gai-sensei walked up to her and bent down a little bit, giving her a slight pat on the shoulder.

"Well done, Sakura-kun." He said firmly. It was not the kind of coo that a mother would give a child based on a decent effort. It was more authoritative than that, as if he was actually proud of her

Sakura shook her head in disbelief. She turned her head downward so that he would not see the tears that began to overtake her eyes. "But…I didn't do anything. I started to give up half way through. If Lee was not there to tell me to keep going, I wouldn't have." She explained to him.

Gai could sense that she was getting a little emotional, but continued in the same tone. If she happened to cry, then he would let her cry. "But in the end, you didn't." He said. "Everyone feels like giving up along the way, but it's those who strive towards the finish line that are the victors. It does not matter what place you end up getting in the race. Even if it is last, there is proof that you tried, instead of getting no place at all if you gave up half way." Gai explained.

Sakura could see his logic in that, but that didn't change the fact that she needed Lee's motivation in order to keep going. However, that was all in the past, and the more she dwelled on it, the more horrible she would feel, and that self-deprecation would not get her anywhere.

"Now, on to business. Your team is meeting at eleven, correct?" Gai asked. Sakura nodded her head, internally correcting the time to be nine, but it was implied to be eleven. She was ready to get down to business. "It is nine right now. I will release you in exactly an hour and a half. Since you seem to have expended your physical capabilities at the moment, we will do thirty minutes of meditation. It is key to maintain one's youthful mindset!" He said enthusiastically.

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed with a salute. Gai looked over at her to see if she was still up to training with them,

To show that she was still determined to become better at whatever field she could, she stood upright just like Lee and saluted also. "Hai, Gai-sensei!" She replied with a smile. The sight of the little cherry blossom copying his student was nothing short of amusing. Her eyes were closed as she tried to produce the biggest grin she could, kind of like they did. Although it did not shine in the same way, she was giving it all her effort. Just by the way she smiled, Gai could tell that she would do fine under Lee, no matter what he decided to throw at her.

Sakura took pride that she could muster up a look of enthusiasm that resembled Lee's to a certain extent. She would not run from anything either of them gave her. She was done running. She was ready to face her problems head on.

"And by the way, Sakura-kun, what size are you? I would love to make you a suit that matched ours." Gai asked as he motioned to the uniforms that he and his student were wearing. Lee looked at her and nodded ardently. Sakura had to stop herself from visibly wincing as all of the color drained from her face.

Maybe there were a few problems that she still had to run from.

* * *

A figure watched over their little spectacle from the trees above the training ground. The figure smiled a little bit at the pink-haired girl's willingness to train. It was a huge improvement from what he had saw in the academy.

He had planned on giving her a test like he had Naruto and Sasuke to see if she would be up to taking the Chūnin exams. However, with the help she had decided to receive, it looked as though she did not need more of a test. It troubled him slightly that Kakashi was not the one training her, but even he saw how the scarecrow put more emphasis on the other two. While he hoped that she did not separate completely from her original sensei, he thought that training with someone new would give her a good change of pace.

With that, Iruka disappeared back into the trees. His observational period was over.

 **Hi everyone! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I hope things are progressing at a good pace right now. Just to reiterate, Sakura hasn't made much progress physically, but she is starting to slowly change her mindset.**

 **Do you guys think that the pacing is good? Too fast? Too slow? Please let me know! Remember, any comments or criticisms are 120 percent welcome.**

 **As always, I hope that all of you beautiful people are having a great day wherever you are. Good luck to everyone starting school, starting a new job, or...basically doing anything in life! See you guys next time!**


	3. New Dynamic

**Masashi Kisimoto owns Naruto. I only own the plot of this story.**

By the time Sakura had finished her training with Lee and Gai-sensei, she was stumbling towards her team's meeting spot, barely able to keep herself up. After the thirty minutes of meditation, they had gone directly back into her training. They started her off with something easy, but claimed it was essential for a ninja to learn. Hopping.

It wasn't just hopping back and forth, though. She and Lee and had to take as many gigantic leaps as they could back and forth across the training ground. The true challenge was trying to keep it silent. One had to jump and land in such a way that the ground would not shift and make noise. Gai had also iterated to her that this technique would be useful for increasing her speed if she had to make spur-of the-moment movements. Having little to no sound come out of taking steps helped keep the body light and agile.

But doing that across the width of a 150 yard training field one hundred times made her legs feel anything but light. In fact, she felt as if she had been dragging lead with her.

After that, Gai had made her do wall sits against a tall rock while she observed their spar. This would help her build muscle and get her to watch taijutsu up close, first-hand. They purposefully slowed their movements to accommodate for her observations, but their agility and stamina were almost inhuman and the strength that was in each one of their kicks was incredible. She was so engrossed in their fight that she had not noticed that she had done her wall sit for ten full minutes. However, the second the both of them took a pause for water, her legs immediately gave out under her.

Sakura was at the foot of the bridge that Team Seven met up at. Sasuke was leaning on the railing, looking minimally peeved but otherwise stoic. Naruto was pacing around the bridge, probably impatient while waiting for their sensei. She wondered if he was also nervous about where she was too.

Her question was answered as soon as she caught Naruto's eye. He immediately ran over to her, stopping to a halt right in front of her face. Sakura backed up a little bit, uncomfortable with the close proximity. Because her legs were so tired from the training she had just endured, she immediately stumbled back and fell right on her butt.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay? You look like you've just been through hell!" He said as he extended his arm to help her up. She wanted to castigate him for saying that because it was quite insensitive to comment on her appearance like that, but she just remained silent as she remembered that it was his way of showing that he cared. She took his hand and let him help her up, much to his surprise.

"I'm fine Naruto." She said with a little irritation, but she could not find the heart to yell at him. When she had looked at the shock on his face when she accepted his help, she felt her chest clench. She wondered to herself how she could be so callous to someone who genuinely cared about her.

"Okay…but you're drenched in sweat and you look like you're about to fall over. Do you need to sit down?" Naruto asked as he propped himself up on the railing of the bridge. Sakura did the same, being in no mood to decline.

Her gaze turned to Sasuke, who she hoped would look at her in some sort of worry or make some indication that he also noticed her frazzled appearance. However, Sasuke did not even spare her a glance, making Sakura look away from him, the pain in her chest returning again.

"So why're you late, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, leaning in a bit. Sakura sighed deeply, though it sounded like it was more out of exhaustion than annoyance.

"Please don't bother me about that right now, Naruto." Sakura said as she grabbed the railing with both her hands while she leaned back to make sure that she would not fall into the water. "Besides, I'm not late if Kakashi-sensei is still not here. You guys should know by now to come two hours later than he says to." She said with her eyes closed. That was when she realized that she had made an indirect insult to Sasuke. Her eyes snapped open as she turned to look at him, but he either didn't care or he didn't hear her, because he remained in the same position.

"Why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?" He asked monotonously, making Sakura lose a bit of her grip at his voice. Luckily, Naruto was there to put an arm behind her back to make sure that she would not fall off the bridge.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan. You seem a little tense, believe it." He said, raising a blonde eyebrow. Sakura gave a small glare to the whiskered boy and was about to say something back, but he continued, "And you hair looks different too. I think it looks nice." He said, giving her a cheeky smile as he referred to her ponytail.

Sakura fumbled a little bit when he said that. Although she had told herself that the comments of others and her looks should not affect her anymore, Naruto's compliment made her feel good. It was as though he had acknowledged that she had changed a little bit, even though it was not in the way she wanted people to.

Sakura ran a hand over the top of her head, smoothing down some loose strands that had come out of her ponytail during training. She then turned to Naruto and gave him a small smile. "Thanks." She told him. She thought that she should try something else to show that she was a bit friendlier, so she gave him an impromptu nudge on his shoulder, a bit harder than she probably should have.

The sudden action came as a complete shock to Naruto, who lost his balance on the railing. Sakura was too slow to catch his back like he did to her, and instead she caught his legs. But even that was not enough to save him. In fact, it made the situation even worse as they both tumbled into the water. The stream that ran through Konoha was shallow and only came up to her thigh, but when she fell in it, she completely got herself immersed in the water and came up with her hair and her clothes soaked. Naruto was in the same predicament.

Naruto scratched his cheek sheepishly as he glanced in her direction, ready for the scolding he expected her to give him. Instead, he heard her snort a bit. His eyes widened in realization that Sakura was laughing, or at least, trying to keep herself from laughing.

She coughed a bit to clear her throat. "Sorry." She said with a slight shrug. After Naruto had gotten over his awe at her sudden change of heart towards him, he grinned widely. He stood up, shaking his bright orange jumpsuit a bit. He was about to help Sakura up, but she got up herself, and started wringing her hair to free it of the water that had collected there.

"It's all good, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he and Sakura both pulled themselves onto the bridge. Sakura was happy that she had not worn her usual dress, because the water it would have collected in it would have definitely weighed her down. She shook herself a little to get some water off of her and allowed the sun to do the rest. Naruto had taken off his jacket and laid it over the railing.

Sakura caught Sasuke's eye for the first time that morning, and she was met with an annoyed eye roll. It made her want to cry out to him to tell him that she was sorry for disturbing him.

 ** _But why would you?_** Inner asked her. **_Look, I know he's pretty hot and super cool, but you hadn't done anything wrong. If anything, the only person you should have to apologize to is Naruto._** **You're** ** _the one who pushed him into the river._**

 _Yeah, but I tried to save him too…_ She thought back, but she realized that Inner was right. It was her fault that she was in the predicament, so she had a right to apologize, but it did not make any sense to do it to Sasuke since he had absolutely nothing to do with it.

"Hey Sakura-chan," Naruto started. Sakura looked at him questioningly. Naruto suddenly gave her a pretty harsh shove, one that resembled the force that she had given him. "Payback." He said as he grinned with his hands behind his head.

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she gawked playfully at the blonde boy. At the end of the day, he was just a regular kid who liked playing jokes. He was really no different from everyone else, despite what everyone else told her to think.

She put her hands on her hips and shook her head slightly, a small smile on her face. "Grow up, idiot." She said lightheartedly. Naruto caught on that it was a joke and grinned even wider, happy that Sakura was interacting with him nicely and doing something other than yelling at him. He didn't want to admit it, but her words really stung when she told him that he was a loser. Although she had not done a complete three-sixty, she looked as though she was more tolerant of his antics.

"You're both idiots. Just shut up." Sasuke brooded. Sakura and Naruto departed from their little quip to turn towards him. Naruto looked at Sakura, ready for her to stammer out an explanation for her behavior, but none came. She bit her lip nervously, probably scared that Sasuke didn't like her anymore, but she said nothing. In addition to that, she did not turn to glare at him either. She looked guiltily into his blue eyes and gave a small shrug, which he supposed was supposed to be another apology.

Before anyone could say anything more, Kakashi appeared in front of them, holding his signature orange book. "Sorry kiddies, I was on my way here, but I met this sweet old lady who…" Kakashi started.

"Liar!" Sakura and Naruto yelled at the same time. Without looking at each other, they gave each other a high-five and crossed their arms. Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow at their new dynamic, as well as their dripping appearance. It did not go over his head that Sakura seemed a little different than most days. She also happened to not be staring at Sasuke for prolonged periods of time, which was already an improvement to her behavior from before.

Another thing Kakashi noticed was that she looked quite tired. She rested her limbs in a languid fashion, as if she had run a lot. However, because the water had washed away any traces of sweat that she would have had, he could not tell if she did. He wondered what she had been doing to cause such a thing. He decided to just brush it off. If he noticed that it was anything serious, then he would ask her about it directly.

"So I see you two have teamed up against me." He said looking at Sakura and Naruto. Kakashi then looked over at Sasuke. "What about you, Sasuke? Are you planning to stage a coup d'état?" He asked the Uchiha. Sasuke didn't respond.

"A coo day…what?" Naruto whispered into Sakura's ear. Sakura just shushed him.

"Anyway, that aside, it's time for you guys to get serious about the Chūnin Exams. We can start training now, that is, if Sakura is willing to participate." Kakashi said, looking straight at her. Naruto looked at her to see what she was going to say and Sasuke just stood aloofly, not really caring what her answer was.

 _He would care if we told him that our decision would affect him too._ Sakura thought to herself. Inner nodded with a thumbs up.

"Yes sensei. I would be more than happy to participate. I promise, I won't let my team down." Sakura said determinedly. The way she worded it would have gone over anyone else's head, but Kakashi immediately caught onto her drift.

 _Ah, so she knows_. He thought. He didn't want to draw attention to her, since it was obvious that she wanted to keep her knowledge a secret. "Very well then, I guess we can all get into our exercise for today." At this, Sasuke perked up a little bit.

"What are we doing today, sensei? Are we learning some cool new jutsu? Are we sparring? Tell me!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically. Kakashi and Sasuke looked at Naruto with irritation. As much as Sakura wanted to do that also, she swallowed her temper and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, putting a little force into it to prevent him from jumping up and down.

"Calm down, Naruto." Sakura said pacifically. All the boys, even Sasuke, could not believe that Sakura was not yelling at Naruto. Sakura felt herself incinerate under their stares, but she pretended not to notice to avoid any awkward situations. She decided to pick up the topic that Naruto started to divert their attention. "But really sensei, what _are_ we doing?" She asked.

Kakashi grinned underneath his mask, so much that his eye squinted. "We are…" Kakashi said dramatically. His students could not help but lean a bit closer in, immersed by the suspense, "going to play hide-and-seek!" He said jovially.

"Hah!?" Sakura and Naruto cried. A vein popped on Sasuke's forehead.

"Oh calm down, you three. It's going to be a special kind of hide-and-seek. The game does not just end when you are found, but when you are captured." Kakashi said as he took out a kunai knife with a wire attached to it. When you've found your target, you have to throw your kunai that is attached to the wire at the tree trunk near the target. This alerts the target that they have been found. Then, they have to make an escape to another position, but that is if they are not caught first." He explained.

"How do you catch people, then?" Naruto asked, rubbing his head.

"I was getting to that. I'm going to split you up into teams. This game requires a lot of strategy because once one member of the team has located the target, the other teammate has to maneuver themselves into a position to capture the enemy. The game is over when both members on the opposing team are caught or the time is up." Kakashi said. The rest of the team nodded. Sasuke was still brooding because they were not doing some actual fighting. "Oh, and one more thing. The two that are hiding have to stay relatively close together. That way it is possible to capture both teammates at once." Kakashi said.

"So who're the teams, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto and Sakura, you two will be a team, and Sasuke and I will be the other one." Kakashi said. Naruto pumped his fist in the air. Sakura took a deep breath and smiled. She knew that she and Naruto would lose against them, but that was probably Kakashi-sensei's intention: to see how well the two "weak-links" of the team would fare, even though he probably wouldn't use that wording.

However, Sasuke was quick to criticize his mentor's decision. "You're going to put _both_ of them on the same team. They're probably going to put a kunai through our heads instead of the tree next to them. Nobody is there to keep them from screwing each other up." He said condemningly.

Naruto immediately launched at Sasuke, tackling him to the ground. Sasuke and Naruto rolled for a little bit before Sasuke pinned him down victoriously. "Don't make me laugh, dobe."

"Teme!"

Sakura stared at her long-time crush dumbfounded. Had he always been so…asinine? No, that was impossible. She had never heard him say something in such a condescending tone before. He was usually aloof and cool, not cold and harsh.

Or was that another thing she had deluded herself about?

Kakashi appeared in front of them in a flash and broke both of them apart by grabbing them by their collars. "Enough, you two." _Honestly, why do_ I _have to be the one to deal with these two?_ "Come on, we're wasting daylight. Training Ground Three." He said before he disappeared. Sasuke straightened out his collar and glared at Naruto, and Naruto glared back with an equal amount of intensity. Sasuke just left with a scoff.

"Urgh! I can't stand that bastard!" Naruto said as he punched his fist into his palm. "Was he trying to imply that we were the weak ones? Oh please, like he could beat…"

"He's right, Naruto." Naruto stopped mid-sentence when Sakura interrupted him. He deflated a little bit, because as usual, Sakura was siding with Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun's right. We are the screw ups of the team. Especially me." She said as she clenched her fists. Before Naruto had any time to deny that, Sakura walked forward and put her fist on his chest, right over his heart. "But that will just give us a better laugh when we win, right?" She asked with a grin.

Naruto's features immediately brightened at her statement. The hand she put on his chest made him feel warm. It made him feel accepted. An interaction like that would have made his blood rush to his cheeks, but somehow, that time it didn't. For a moment, he felt that he did not need to prove himself to anyone anymore. As long as Sakura was his friend. Not girlfriend like he had always immaturely fantasized about, but just a friend.

Naruto mimicked her gesture by putting his fist to her chest as well. "Of course it will, Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed. That was when he saw her smile falter a little bit as her eyebrow twitched.

"Naruto…get your hand off my chest… _now_." She growled out. Naruto immediately stumbled back.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan!"

* * *

Sakura was starting to regret the encouraging words she told Naruto about winning, and her tired state was the cause of it.

Sakura struggled to walk upright as a burning sensation in her calves set in. Everything Lee had put her through, even though it was at the 'beginner level', made her feel as if she had walked through lava. She noticed that Naruto, despite being a knucklehead, could actually pick up on her slight disability, granted she was not doing a very good job at hiding it. When she stumbled because of a sharp pain in her leg, he had been there to catch her upper arm and stabilize her. Every time he sensed something off, he had always asked if she was okay, which was admittedly a little annoying. However, she found the gesture in general very sweet.

 _I've been so horrible to him my whole life. He's the last person who deserves the treatment everyone gives him._ Sakura thought gravely. She still did not fully understand why adults treated him like they did. While they shouted things like "monster" and "devil", kids mocked "dead-last" and "loser". He had never received any love from other people, and he seemed to have no idea why.

Sakura pushed those thoughts to the back of her head when she neared the beginning of the forest of the training grounds. Sasuke and Kakashi were already there, discussing something. Sasuke looked quite displeased, and the side of Kakashi's face that was facing her was completely covered so she had no way of reading his expression.

Sasuke casually turned his gaze towards them, looking at them with a raised eyebrow. A part in Sakura wanted to squeal that she had gotten some sort of acknowledgement from him, but she realized how pointless that would be over such a trivial matter. She wanted to think of herself as stronger than someone who could just melt under a gaze, because those people never become strong. However, she could not say that she did not feel elated by his small sign of recognition, as pathetic as that sounded.

"Oh, so you two are finally here." Kakashi said as he motioned them over. Sakura and Naruto took their positions next to Sasuke. "Well, the game starts once we reach the flat area in the middle of the forest. The evading team gets a fifteen-second head start. There's also a time limit because I do not want to make it go on forever." Kakashi said as pulled out a small, hand-sized alarm clock out of his pouch. "I'll say…twenty minutes? Yes, you have twenty minutes to capture your opponent." Kakashi explained.

Sasuke glanced cautiously at Sakura and Naruto. He could not believe that Kakashi would be so stupid as to pair those two together, when it was obvious that they could not even take care of themselves. Sasuke sighed in agitation as he thought about carrying his own Genin team. Their burden would only hinder him from becoming stronger.

"Heh, Sakura-chan and I are going to kick your ass, teme!" Naruto said boisterously. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him.

"Hn. As if you could even touch me, dobe." Sasuke said.

"What was that!?" Naruto exclaimed as he butt heads with Sasuke. They continued to argue as they walked farther into the forest, leaving Sakura and Kakashi behind.

Sakura sighed and shrugged. "Will those two ever quit it?" Sakura asked exasperatedly. Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck.

"I guess it is a good way to develop friendly competition between them." He said.

Sakura raised her eyebrow at him. "I wouldn't exactly call the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke-kun 'friendly'." She stated. She paused a little before changing the subject. "Why did you lie about the Chūnin Exams?" She asked Kakashi seriously.

Kakashi motioned for her to walk with him. They started to make their way slowly towards the clearing of the forest, at a much slower pace than the other two had gone in. "I did not want you to feel pressured into joining because of them. I knew that you wouldn't be able to resist the insistence of the boys." _Especially Sasuke._ Kakashi thought, but chose not to say it.

"Yeah, especially Sasuke-kun, right?" Sakura said. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her since she had technically just read his mind. "I did fear that he would hate me if I didn't say yes and he found out that it was required, but that was only part of the reason I decided to take the exam." Sakura said, staring straight ahead.

"And the other part?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura hesitated a little bit, feeling a little embarrassed. "Well, uh," she stammered a little and swallowed audibly, "I-I want to prove that I've earned my position as a Genin. I've taken a lot of time to reconsider what is truly important in my role as a kunoichi." She wrapped her finger around her long ponytail, which was still wet and not in the pristine shape she always wanted her hair to be. But she did not seem bothered by this fact.

"Yes, I've seen a significant change in your behavior. But with it, a significant change in your energy level as well." Kakashi said as he stopped and leaned in a bit towards her. "Is there something that sensei should be worried about?" He asked her seriously.

Sakura's eyes widened and her palms started to sweat as her sensei's one aloof eye stared at her. All the confidence she had mustered to tell him of her goals was gone. She hated to admit it, but she was absolutely terrified of him. She knew that Kakashi was a genuinely good person at heart, but she saw how he nurtured Sasuke and Naruto a bit more than her. He knew the importance of power, and she believed he saw none in her. That was why he was babying her slightly. She didn't believe that Kakashi did it on purpose, and it was safe to say that he did so because he saw more potential in Naruto and Sasuke, but that was what made Sakura so nervous to come to him for help rather than Lee, who treated her more like an equal.

"Hey! What are you guys doing?" Someone yelled from in front of them. Kakashi immediately broke his staring competition with Sakura to stare at the rambunctious blonde that was making their way towards them. Sakura just stared at the ground, her body frozen a bit. She had to make a note to treat Naruto to some ramen later for saving her from the awkward situation. "We've been waiting for ages! Come on, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, grabbing her hand and dragging her through the forest. She stumbled a little bit as she tried to keep up, her energy not permitting her to do so.

Kakashi stared after his two students before he sighed. He was not sure how it happened, but he happened to instill fear in his little kunoichi, which meant that she could not trust him as much as he wanted her to. Not only would that be dangerous on the battlefield, but it would be detrimental to her mental state to be stuck with someone who terrified her. However, he did not know exactly how to fix the problem he had started. Protecting her more than he already did would not help her career as a kunoichi.

Kakashi clutched his head to try to suppress his pounding headache.

 _I'm really not cut out to be a teacher._ He thought as he continued on his way towards the clearing.

 **Hello everyone! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Things are really going to start to pick up next chapter because we are going to get into their game and Kakashi is (somehow) going to realize that he has a bit of a shitty teaching style. The way this will be revealed to him will be seen in the next chapter.**

 **So yeah, I just started junior year today, and let me tell you, it's a ton of work. Any of you juniors or former juniors out there relate? I probably won't update as often as I have been, but I'll still try to work on this story as much as I can. I just hope I do well this year!**

 **Thank you to all of those who left reviews on the previous chapters. Please tell me your thoughts on this one!**

 **As always, I hope you are all having a fantastic day wherever you are, and if you are not, then know that I send you my love and hope that your day will get better (sorry if that sounds cheesy). See you guys next time!**


	4. Teammates in Arms

**Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

The two teams faced each other in the small wooded clearing in the middle of the forest, circumscribed by lush greenery. Sasuke and Naruto were glaring at each other with unspoken insults, Sakura stood clenching and unclenching her fists, and Kakashi looked at the two boys with a look of nostalgia. Sakura noticed this, but did not question him about it. Whatever was going through his mind seemed very personal.

"Alright, that's enough." He said, calling all of their attention back to him. "Like I said, this game will last for twenty minutes. If the evading team is able to elude their opponents for the entire time, then they win. If the capturing team catches them first, then they lose." He reiterated. "Sakura, Naruto, you two are on the evading team." Kakashi said.

Naruto whined that he wanted to be the one to catch him off guard, while Sakura looked down and pondered what she just heard. It all made sense in her head. It was basically a game of predator versus prey, and Kakashi and Sasuke were definitely seen as the predators of the team, while she and Naruto were usually looked at as the weak links. He wanted to see how they would be able to defend themselves if someone were to come after them.

Sakura decided that she would show them. She knew that she was the weakest one on the team at the moment, but she would show that she could take care of herself if she were ever to be underestimated.

"I have small watches for everyone that will ring once the time is expired." He said, handing them each a pocket watch that could be clipped to their neckline. He also handed one to Sasuke before securing his own on his green jacket. "You two have a minute to get a head start. Remember to stay within seeing-distance of each other." Kakashi said. Sakura and Naruto nodded. Sakura contracted her calves to try to squeeze out the pain and get ready for a run. She couldn't let her physical adversity hold her back. "Begin!" Kakashi ordered, and Naruto and Sakura began dashing through the trees.

Sasuke looked at Kakashi, who was looking after his two other students. "What is it that you're planning, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi just stared at his watch, waiting for the minute to be up. Without looking up, he replied, "I want to see how much potential those two can manifest in each other."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. _In each other?_ He asked himself. Sasuke scoffed a little bit. _It's not like those two had any potential to begin with, but power isn't manifested by others unless it is through hate._ He thought at he fought to suppress an eye roll.

* * *

Sakura and Naruto jumped through the trees until their time was completely up. They took refuge behind a group of pines and knelt down on a branch. Sakura was already panting, and she cursed her terrible stamina.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. Sakura nodded, trying to get rid of the burning sensation in her legs that had returned.

"Yeah, I'm alright." She said. "It's probably best to split up to avoid us both getting caught. I'll be really close so you'll know where I am." Sakura said. That was when they felt a little vibration from their watches. The game had started. "We should keep going. I'll run through the trees parallel to you."

"Alright, but we better go, believe it." He muttered. Sakura could feel Kakashi and Sasuke gaining in on them. She wished she could sense their chakra as they probably could hers. However, she just had to play it by ear at the moment.

With that, they separated and continued through the forest again.

* * *

There were only a few minutes left on the clock and the predatory team had still not caught them. Sasuke had tried once, almost putting a kunai through Naruto's arm in the process, but he happened to create a clone of himself to push on the force of the tree to push him away. He was able to go to the tops of the trees again to hide.

Sakura felt her endurance almost deplete completely. She knew that she could not keep running for much longer, but she had barely any time to rest. As soon as she had assumed a position to hide in, it was as if the other team had found her instantly, forcing her to move. However, she tried her best to remain stealthy. Little energy meant that she had to work harder to maintain her furtiveness. She was putting the silent leaps she had learned earlier from Lee into good use.

She knew that the other two had something up their sleeve, and Sasuke had only thrown the kunai because he was becoming impatient of their plan. She looked to her side to see a small yellow blob a little ways ahead of her and a little bit higher in the canopy of the trees. Even though she was looking at his back, she could tell that he was tired of running too.

That was when she heard something coming towards her very fast, and she knew that Sasuke was after her. Before, he had always gone for Naruto, but perhaps he thought he would have better luck picking her off first. She could tell that he was concealing his chakra signature (she did not even know how to do that), but the sound of him jumping off the branches was a dead giveaway. He may have been a prodigy a lot of advanced skills, but he was unable to resist putting force into every single one of his steps to propel himself forward. This gave him away to Sakura.

She noticed that there was something different about his movement patterns. Right when she heard that he was probably only a few meters behind her, he changed directions and started to go towards her left side. His footsteps increasingly got fainter until she could not hear him anymore. Suddenly, with a new burst of energy, he started to run towards her side, as if he was going to ram straight into her.

Sakura knew that this would have instinctively driven her to her right side, closer to where Naruto was. However, Sakura knew better that to do that, since it would just give Kakashi and Sasuke an easier opportunity to capture them both in one hit. Instead, Sakura leaped up onto a higher branch, just as Sasuke came down on her branch. She heard him hiss a little bit at her, and she could not help but feel a little bit of pain in her chest from such an antagonistic sound. He did not pursue her from above, but he made sure to keep pace with her directly below, although he could not directly see her.

Sakura made her way to the top branch of one of the trees. She knelt down and rested there for a few moments before she saw Naruto running a few branches below her. She immediately dropped from her branch when she saw him pass so that she would be in sync with him. However, because Naruto had not expected her sudden appearance, he stumbled on the branch he had landed on with a small shriek. Sakura had to quickly catch the back cuff of his jacket to make sure that he would not completely fall off the branch.

"Be quiet, knucklehead. They're right behind us." Sakura scolded as she pulled Naruto behind the branch of the tree. She had no idea where the two of them were, and she could not hear anything. However, they could be close, observing them.

Sakura uncovered the hand from Naruto's mouth so he could breathe. He took a huge gulp of air. "You scared me Sakura-chan! How did you move so fast?" He asked in a whisper.

"I wasn't fast, I was silent. It's something you have to work on." Sakura remarked. Naruto grinned sheepishly before he stared at the small clock attached to his jacket.

"There's only three minutes left. We can still beat them!"

Sakura shook her head with a frown. "No, Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei are too smart to not have caught us yet. Sensei is going easy on us, but Sasuke-kun is relentless. He should have caught us by now. I think they were just waiting for us to tire out." Sakura concluded.

"That doesn't sound like the teme. He's more likely to eliminate the enemy quickly." Naruto said, scratching his head. _As if he could ever take me down._ Naruto thought with false pride.

"Kakashi-sensei probably told him to hold back. He's testing us to see something, I just can't figure out what." Sakura said. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to think of a solution to their problem. She and Naruto were already too tired to run any more than they had, and she felt that it was not Kakashi's intention for letting them off the hook for so long. Sakura's eyes snapped open as she formulated an idea.

She had no idea what Kakashi planned to test them on, but perhaps it had something to do with them going on the offensive. She quickly thought up a plan on how to combat them. "Naruto, I need you to trust me. Can you do that?" She asked seriously.

Naruto, who was still panting slightly, looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Of course, Sakura-chan. I already do." He said.

Sakura shook her head. "No, I need you to put your faith in me as your comrade. _Please._ " She said urgently. Naruto's eyes widened at her desperate tone, and wondered why his first response didn't satisfy her. Wasn't she basically asking the same thing? Naruto just nodded slowly, a bit dubiously. "Okay, then just play along." Sakura said as she jumped down to the forest floor. Naruto immediately jumped after her.

* * *

Sasuke had started to get anxious when the timer was three minutes until being up and they still had not caught the two losers. If it was up to him, he would have caught them within the first minute, but he had to hold himself back based on what Kakashi said.

 _"_ _Try to drag it out for as long as you can, Sasuke. I want to see what those two can do when paired together."_

Kakashi had always been so vague. Sasuke could not help but feel his blood boil at the thought of his sensei. The exercise that they were doing would not help him get closer to killing Itachi or even preparing for the Chūnin Exams, so why was he even bothering with it? The thought of "helping" the other two instead of himself made him callous. Call him selfish, but he needed to be focused on his own power in order to achieve his goal.

Suddenly, Sakura jumped to the ground, looking absolutely exhausted. She looked as though she had completely given up on the exercise. "I don't think I can go much further, Naruto." She whined to her partner, who had jumped through the trees to land next to her.

Naruto hesitated a little bit, wondering what she wanted him to say. After her eyes widened to indicate that he was taking too long to respond, he replied with, "But Sakura-chan! We can't let the teme and sensei win! We can still beat them." Naruto tried to encourage her. Sakura flashed him a small smile to show that he said what she had wanted him to before her face devolved back into a grimace.

"I'm _tired_ , idiot! I can barely stand up and my hair is completely ruined. This whole thing is so stupid." Sakura complained as she stomped her feet on the ground repeatedly.

Sasuke observed their spectacle in annoyance from a tree relatively close to them. _Hn. Typical._ He thought as he observed Sakura. However, there was something a little odd about her. She was berating Naruto less that he thought she would during her rant. She would usually hit him over the head and tell him that it was all his fault, which was irritating to Sasuke to no limit. Of course, he thought the same way, but it was generally her fault too when things went wrong.

Sasuke saw Kakashi get into a tree right across from him so they were both observing their teammates from opposite sides. Kakashi seemed to be contemplating why their opponents were acting the way they were. Sasuke had an answer for him. It was because they were annoying.

Seeing that the timer was about to run out and the game was about to be over, Kakashi and Sasuke decided to go in for the kill. Kakashi swung one of his wires over to Sasuke and the boy caught the other end and wrapped it around his hand a little for good grip. With that, they descended to where Sakura and Naruto were.

Sakura was not skilled enough to sense where they were before hand, but she had enough common sense to know when they were about attack. Considering that time was almost up, if the two did not make a move soon, they would lose the game. Although she was still trying to figure out what Kakashi wanted to gain from her and Naruto's actions, it was a safe bet that he had not found what he had been looking for since the game was still going on. That gave their team the advantage in terms of deceit.

She knew that if she and Naruto did nothing significant, did something that they were expecting her team to do, then Kakashi would tell Sasuke to wait until the last second to capture them, just to see if they would do whatever he was looking for. If she could anticipate this, then she and Naruto could escape and there would not be enough time to capture both of them.

She was relying heavily on psychological analysis from her repertoire of her teammates' past actions, so there was a good chance that her plan would not work. However, it was their only shot, since running seemed to be out of the question for her, and Naruto seemed as though he was allergic to running away.

She also knew that at least Sasuke would not think that it mattered whether he concealed his presence or not, since he thought they were incompetent of coming up with any sort of counterattack plan. Knowing his whereabouts was enough for her plan to follow through.

As she suspected, when Sasuke and Kakashi charged for them, Sasuke's movements were a bit slower than usual, indicating that whether he used his speed or not, she and Naruto would not be able to evade him.

"Now, Naruto!" She yelled. Naruto quickly performed a hand sign, making four clones show up. Sakura and the real Naruto put their feet on the clones' hands as they quickly boosted them up into the trees, projecting them in opposite directions. This way, there would be little chance that Kakashi and Sasuke would capture them both.

Their opponents' wire instead wrapped around the two clones, who disappeared instantly in a puff of smoke. The two landed on the ground and retracted their wire.

Still in the air after the boost, Sakura glanced at her timer. _Just ten seconds left!_ She thought. She and Naruto could actually win the game! She could feel Sasuke's anger rise at how he would lose to two people who he could have beaten without Kakashi's "help".

However, Kakashi seemed to think of another idea. "Sasuke! Go after Naruto!" He said as he charged at the blonde boy in the trees. Sasuke looked just as confused as Sakura about it. It did not matter who they went after, because if they did not capture both of them, then they could not win the game. Nevertheless, Sasuke obeyed Kakashi's order and went for Naruto, who immediately tried to jump away.

Sakura then saw the fault in her plan. She could still win, but at the cost of Naruto. If it had been a real mission, would she risk sacrificing Naruto's life so she could "win"? On one hand, her pride wanted her to just let things play out since there were only a few seconds left. However, her heart told her differently.

Her heart told her that her teammate was more important that winning some stupid game. If she had to pick between her comrade and proving herself, her choice was obvious.

With her volition solidified, she jumped towards Naruto, which set them up for a collision course towards each other. She hoped that she could push him out of harm's way, or at least, take his place. Either way, they would still win, if she got there in time.

Of course, because her speed was much slower than Kakashi and Sasuke's, and her stamina was still recovering from the intense training that she did in the morning, her plan did not follow through as she had wanted. As Kakashi and Sasuke gained on Naruto, they both released their wires to capture him. Just as they did this, Sakura got to Naruto, and they shared an awkward bump between their heads before they both found themselves trapped in the black cable and falling quickly towards the ground. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and waited for her body to hit the ground, but it never came.

Kakashi had expertly caught the cocoon of their bodies before they reached the forest floor, safely laying them down on the ground. Sakura and Naruto were tied with their backs together and the wire around their torsos. Sakura made sure not to struggle too much, since the wire was sharp and she was not wearing anything around her arms, but Naruto was violently flailing around, yelling curses as he did so.

Sasuke jumped to the ground shortly after that, looking at her dumfound and shaking his head slightly in disappointment. Sakura averted her gaze, unable to look at him.

"You could have won, you know?" Kakashi asked as he knelt down to Sakura's height. Naruto stopped struggling to hear what Kakashi had to say.

Sakura froze, the fear of her sensei surfacing again. She tried to suppress it, since he was only talking to her casually, but she could not help the sinking feeling in her stomach when he looked at her. She feared that if she did something wrong, then he would give up on her. She knew she couldn't judge, but she had the inkling that a powerful shinobi like him would only nurture the potential that others already showed. That left her out of the equation.

Sakura swallowed a little bit. "I couldn't leave Naruto. I know I could have won, and I really wanted to…" She started in a frail voice as she tried to look over her shoulder at Naruto, who happened to be looking over his shoulder at her. Cerulean met emerald, and they came to a mutual understanding of her intention, "but if I had to win at the cost of giving something else important up, then victory is meaningless." She finished, a little stronger. However, she felt herself start to get lightheaded.

Kakashi paused with his eye closed. Sakura was glad he was not staring at her anymore, because it gave her the chance to glace at him through her weary eyes. He seemed to look remorseful about something, although she could only assume because his face was covered. Whatever his emotion was, he was deep in thought. He then breathed a heavy sigh and stood up, taking out a kunai and cutting off their cables as he did so.

Sakura expected Naruto to immediately jump up and attack Sasuke once he was free, and by the tense stance Sasuke had taken, he had thought so too. However, once Naruto pushed the cable off of himself, he just sat with is back still towards her. He leaned back a little bit into her, but not enough to make her bed at the waist. It was like Naruto was trying to let her know that he was still there for her.

Kakashi then went to their side and patted them both on the head with both his hands. "Well done, you two." He said simply. After that, he just disappeared. Without saying anything, their sensei had dismissed their training.

Sasuke still glowered at them in disappointment. "Why would you throw yourself into danger in a game?" He asked her. Sakura flinched a little bit, but decided that if Sasuke was going to be on her team, she had to learn how to communicate with him as well.

"If this game happened to be a situation in real life, then I could not have just stood there. Yes, this might have just been an exercise, but it is to teach us what to do if this kind of occasion actually arises." She explained. "I took this game seriously because showing that I am willing to give myself up for a teammate is more important than victory."

"But you did not just give yourself up. If this was a real situation, you both would have died. How would that have helped anyone?" Sasuke retorted harshly. Sakura felt tears sting her eyes as her voice got caught in her throat. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to formulate words to say to him.

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled at him. "You're such a bloody hypocrite! Remember what you did when Haku was about to attack me? We both could have died, but you just ran in front of the senbon!" Naruto vehemently yelled. Sakura had never heard his voice hold such pain and confusion.

Sasuke immediately looked away with a scowl. "I told you before, dobe. My body moved on its own." He said as he started to make his way out of the forest, completely done with the people he'd be forced to spend his Genin days with. Before he moved too far away, he looked over his shoulder and shot a disbelieving glance at Sakura, who had this time held his to see what he would say to her. "And since when have you taken things like this seriously?" He asked.

"But…S-Sasuke-kun…" She tried to call out, her voice a clear indication that she was about to cry, but Sasuke had already started walking away again. At this point, she could not stop the tears from sliding down her face in streams. She covered her face in her hands and tried to block out both the pain and the nausea that he felt.

"Argh! That bastard! I should give him a piece of my mind!" Naruto yelled to no one. He then looked at Sakura's crumpled and sobbing form, his eyes immediately softening. He reached out a tentative hand to touch her, not knowing whether she wanted to be comforted or left alone. He had never seen Sakura like that. He had seen her scared, upset, infatuated, happy, and even sad to a certain extent, but never before had he seen her so broken.

When his hand touched her shoulder, he expected her to flinch back, but she didn't. She just remained where she was, her face hidden within her hands. "Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked cautiously.

Sakura took a huge sniff and tried to rub her eyes free of tears. "Sorry." She apologized, before her face broke out into a melancholy smile. "Pretty pathetic, huh? Crying after I lost a game. Some kunoichi I am." She said, whimpering a little.

"No! Not at all! The teme's just a sore winner, and he does everything to make other people feel bad!" He exclaimed. His words made her feel a little better, even though they insulted Sasuke. Actually, _especially_ because they insulted Sasuke. "Besides, what you did was really cool!" Naruto said.

"But Naruto…if I had done that on the battlefield…because I wasn't fast enough, we both would have died." She said. Naruto shook his head.

"That's not how it looks to me, believe it." He said as he scooched forward a little bit so that he and Sakura were sitting directly next to each other. She sat with her knees to her chest while he crossed his legs. "Except for Iruka-sensei, nobody has cared enough to risk themselves for me. To know that you would actually try to protect me..." Naruto started gravely as he clutched his jacket over where his heart was, "it makes me feel warm right here. I've never had a friend like that before." He said as he looked at her. His eyes showed a bit of uncertainty. "I _am_ your friend, right?" He asked, a little desperately.

Sakura then saw him in a new light. Apart from being hyperactive and a bit rowdy, he was still just an insecure kid who was never shown any love as a child. She wondered how he could keep such an optimistic view when everyone treated him like he was nothing. Nonetheless, he trusted her plan, even though he barely got any explanation. She realized that, since she had become a shinobi, he was the first person to have believed in her. Not even her own parents had shown the understanding that the blonde boy who she verbally abused did.

"Yeah…" Sakura said, a little quietly. "Yeah, you are." She said honestly as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for believing in me. I know my plan was a little farfetched." Sakura said sheepishly.

"No! I thought it was great! Who cares if we lost? We'll get them next time, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. He extended his hand to help her up, and she took it thankfully. "But we should probably get out of this forest first." He said as he swung her arm over his shoulder to support her.

However, before they could make it completely out of the forest, Sakura felt all of the day's events catch up to her. Her vision became blurry and she could barely walk straight. Before she knew it, her body started to fall to the ground until she was caught by two strong arms.

* * *

When Sakura awoke again, she was lying in a familiar room. She turned over slightly and inhaled the scent of the bed she was lying on, identifying it as her own. She didn't want to open her eyes for fear that it would aggravate the pounding headache that was beginning to resurface. She just snuggled herself back into the covers, trying to block out the sunlight that was pouring into her room and the loud snoring.

 _Wait, snoring?_ Sakura thought in a slight panic as she shot up, only to clutch her head as a sudden wave of nausea overtook her.

 ** _Great job, stupid._** Sakura just mentally sneered at Inner as she tried to sit up again, much more slowly. She looked to where she heard the rumbling noises and found the source on the side of her bed on the floor. As Sakura peered over the bed, she saw Naruto lying on his side with his head rested on one of his arms. Her wooden floor was definitely not the most comfortable place to take a nap, so she was flattered that Naruto had decided to let her preserve her privacy.

Sakura straightened her back as she tried to remember what happened. The last memory that she could conjure up was walking through the forest with Naruto and then feeling really tired. After that, everything was really fuzzy. Sakura slapped her forehead and laid back with a groan. She couldn't believe she had fainted.

Sakura rolled over a bit so that she was on the edge of her bed, looking down at Naruto. _If I fainted, then Naruto must have carried me all the way back here._ She thought as a small smile played on her lips. Even though they had been through that long chase, Naruto had still managed to get her back home safely. _Honestly, how much stamina does this guy have?_ She thought as she benevolently rolled her eyes. She was happy that her parents worked all day and only came home during the night, otherwise they would have freaked out to find a boy in the house, especially in her room.

Sakura reached over and nudged Naruto's shoulder a little bit. "Naruto, wake up." She said quietly. He stirred slightly, but he only flipped over on his other side and continued his snoring. Sakura breathed an exasperated sigh at his stubborn conscious. Sakura mustered up her energy and swung her feet over the bed, bringing her up into a sitting position. She slowly rose to her feet, careful not to step on her blonde friend. She crouched down next to him and shook him a bit harder. "Naruto, if you don't wake up, I won't make you ramen." Sakura said as she shook him with a little more force.

This seemed to do the trick, since the next thing Sakura knew, she was stumbling back after Naruto had bolted upright, looking frantically from side to side. "Ramen! Ramen! Where's the ramen!?" He exclaimed with wide eyes. He then looked at her. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan!? Is the _ramen_ okay!?" He asked seriously.

"There's no ramen, Naruto." Sakura said as she regained her composure. Naruto deflated a bit, before remembering that he was not in his dingy hovel. He looked around her room curiously. She didn't mind too much since there wasn't anything that she kept in her room that was particularly private, as long as he didn't go snooping in any of her drawers.

"Did you carry me all the way back?" Sakura asked. Naruto stopped his inspection and looked at her, nodding.

"Yup. I hope you don't mind, but your window was open." He said, pointing at her open window. "You really got me worried there, Sakura-chan." He said, concern reflecting in his blue eyes.

Sakura gave him a half smile, guilty that she had put her burden on him. "Thank you. And I'm really sorry you had to do that."

Naruto just shrugged his nonchalance. "Nah, it wasn't a big deal, but what in the world happened? You kind of just got knocked out suddenly. I was afraid you had dropped dead or somethin'." He said. Sakura just shrugged a little. She was not sure if she wanted to tell Naruto about her training with Lee just yet. It was not that she didn't trust him, but she didn't want him to feel that she was betraying her team or something.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess all of today's running around tired me out, you know. Not everyone has an unlimited supply of energy like you do, Naruto." Sakura teased lightly. Naruto laughed and puffed out his chest proudly.

"I know. I'm pretty unstoppable." He said, feigning pride.

Sakura's grin grew as she shook her head. "Get off your high horse, whiskers. Both of us still have a long way to go, starting with those Chūnin Exams." When he heard this, a fire immediately blazed in Naruto's eyes. He immediately shot his fist in the air.

"Bring it on! I'll become a Chūnin no matter what! It's just a stepping stone for me on the road to become Hokage!" He said, crossing his arms with confidence. He looked at Sakura to see her gazing at him with a slight smile on her face. "What is it?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"I think you'd make a great Hokage." She said suddenly. Naruto's eyes widened as his face immediately began to heat up. He scratched his cheek nervously.

"Y-ya think?" He asked.

"I believe it." She responded, making him grin. "But when you're Hokage, you can't be pulling the pranks that you do now." She scolded playfully.

Naruto waved his hand at her dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I'll worry about that when I get there." Sakura giggled at this. Naruto then sobered a little bit as he turned slowly towards her. Sakura's chuckles subsided when she saw his jovial expression vanish. "Hey, Sakura-chan?" He asked. "Why…are you being so nice to me now?" He asked her cautiously, as if he was going to offend her.

Sakura knew that this conversation would come up eventually. Her change in behavior was very noticeable, and it was just a matter of time before someone questioned her about it. "I've taken a lot of time to consider what is truly important to me as a ninja. One of those things is my comrades." She said looking directly at him. "After I had gotten passed my own prejudices and what the other people in the village say about you, I realized that you're not any different than the rest of us. You really don't deserve the treatment that you get, and you're definitely not a dead-last, no matter what Sasuke-kun says." Sakura replied.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. That was probably the first time he had heard Sakura disagree against something that Sasuke said. "But…does that mean…?" He could not actually finish his sentence because he did not know exactly what to say.

However, Sakura seemed to pick up on what he was getting at. "Like I said before, you're my friend now. I don't know how I hadn't realized it before, but you've always been my friend. How I treated you was disgraceful. I'm so sorry." Sakura said as she bowed a little bit. Naruto could tell that she was genuinely apologetic, but could do nothing but rub the back of his head sheepishly. He was not used to other kids his age being nice to him, so he didn't know exactly how to react.

"H-hey, it's all good, believe it. What matters now is that we're going to make an unstoppable pair, right Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, his eyes lighting up from excitement. The air in the room immediately lost all of its tension, which was a huge burden off of Sakura's chest. She did not know what she would have done if Naruto had refused her apology, but she would have respected his decision. If someone had treated her the same way she did him, then she would have definitely held a grudge.

Sakura nodded in confirmation. She stuck out her fist. "Right." She said, giving him a little wink. Naruto grinned widely as he bumped fists with her.

Just then, Sakura heard the downstairs door open and footsteps echo throughout the house. "Sakura! We're home!" Mebuki called through the seemingly vacant house. Sakura immediately tensed. Her parents did not take very well to shinobi, and like she had stated before, especially not _male_ shinobi.

"Naruto, I'm really sorry to cut this short, but you have to leave now." Sakura said, immediately rising from her position on the floor. Naruto rose with her, aware of the implication.

"I guess I'll just let myself out the way I got in. I'll see you tomorrow for training, Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he made his way towards her window. Sakura nodded.

"Of course, and thanks for your help." She said sincerely. Naruto gave her one last grin before he jumped out her window. Sakura looked at her window to make sure he had made it out safely. Not surprisingly, Naruto had tumbled face-first into the ground, but still got up and brushed himself off as if nothing happened before taking off down the street. Sakura shook her head at the idiot's antics.

Sakura closed her window with a smile. She had acquired the friendships of two people – Lee and Naruto – who she knew would have her back no matter what the case. She wished she could say the same for her sensei and the object of her affection, but at the rate their relationships were going, they were probably never going to give her any regard.

Sakura just sat on her bed and crossed her hands as she thought about this. If they were not convinced that she was trying to get stronger, then she would show them. She might not have been a shinobi prodigy like Sasuke or have the raw power of a lion like Naruto, but she would prove herself to be useful on the battlefield too.

And the first step to that was getting some rest, since the Green Beast was sure to work her hard the next day, no matter how tired she felt.

* * *

Sakura had to disregard the fact that she had fainted the day prior because she had already made an appointment with Lee and it would be rude if she decided not to show up. She made sure to get up earlier and eat a large breakfast so it would digest well and she would have more energy before training. She remembered that Lee said that eating was a big part of her training program too, and she was set on being completely regimental about her career.

At seven o'clock sharp, she was standing on the plain of Training Ground Five. Lee was already there. He greeted her with a smile and a wave, as well as a comment about how incredibly youthful she looked. She was not sure whether that was a good thing or not, but she blushed anyway and accepted the comment. Gai did not seem to be there, and Lee told her that his sensei had a few loose ends to tie up and he would not be joining them.

They had started with running, again doing five laps around the village. And, once again, Sakura felt like giving up. She did not drop to her knees and pant for breath like she did the previous day, but she felt so tempted to rest that she ultimately began walking at some points. This, however, became more painful than relaxing, since every time she did so, Lee made her do ten push-ups.

They mainly worked on endurance that day, since stamina was one of the most noticeable things that she lacked in comparison to her teammates. She held certain positions for minutes on end, ran from one side of the field to another, and even (for they were bored) arm wrestled Lee for a full fifteen minutes straight. The goal was not to take him down, since she knew that was something she could not do, but keep him from taking her down. In the end, she lost, but fifteen minutes was a good start.

Two hours later, Sakura's shirt was soaked with her own sweat, and it clung to her body in a way that showed off her nonexistent figure. In a sense, she still felt a little insecure about that, but she was more concerned about someone looking at her frazzled appearance, because she honestly did not look very attractive at the moment. For some reason, although she did not say her thoughts out loud, Lee vehemently disagreed.

"I think that is enough for today, Sakura-san." Lee said as he handed her a water bottle. Sakura took it thankfully as she drank some of the refreshing liquid. Lee drank some of his own water bottle and swallowed. "I can already see an improvement." He said.

"Really? It's only the second day, and I don't think I've improved at all." Sakura said as she finished up her water. She was very tired and looked as though her legs were about to give out under her. Lee immediately noticed this and led her over to a giant rock on the training field. They sat on the side that face away from the sun, so they were surrounded by its shadow.

"I do not mean physically, because that will take time. I mean your attitude. You outlook on this training seems to have only grown more determined. This is the kind of mindset you will need if you want to complete our training together." Lee said. He then looked at her and smiled. "I think that you'll make a wonderful kunoichi. Just remember that no matter where you start from, hard work can put you on top."

Sakura looked at the ground with a smile as tears pricked her eyebrows. It was true that she was not doing as well in Lee's training as she had hoped, but she knew that the shift she was trying to make was dramatic, so she just had to keep working. It did not matter if she was not as she expected herself to be. That did not mean that she should give up, it meant that she should try harder.

"Sakura-san…" Lee started tentatively. Sakura snapped out of her stupor and listened intently. "I hope you do not mind me asking, but why did you not go to your own sensei for your training? Not that I don't love training you or anything! I am just curious." Lee said.

Sakura turned away from him and pursed her lips, leaning her chin against her legs, which were tucked against her chest. "Because…" She said in a slightly shaky breath. "Because he scares me." She said truthfully. She buried her head in her knees and tried to shield her face away from Lee. However, he could already see the tears that were falling from her eyes. His hand immediately went to her back. He ignored the slight moistness as he began to rub small circles.

"Why?" He asked quietly. He could never understand how someone could be afraid of their own teacher, especially because his own teacher was his role model. Sakura, on the other hand, looked absolutely terrified of hers.

"…He doesn't believe in me. He doesn't say it…but I can tell. He cares more about nurturing the power of Naruto and Sasuke and neglects me. I could tell that he was disappointed with how I acted on the last mission. I don't hate him, not at all. In fact, I think he's being quite fair." Sakura said with a dry laugh as she sniffed a little. "But I'm so afraid that he's given up on me without giving me a chance. I don't want him to always feel the need to protect me to the point where I'm never able to grow because of it." Sakura took another long sniff.

She continued to silently cry as Lee continued to comfort her. He felt that he did not need to say anything. He just needed to be there as her friend, someone who _did_ believe in her.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, a certain white-haired scarecrow watched their spectacle from the trees. Directly next to him was his eternal rival, his arms crossed and his thick eyebrows furrowed. Kakashi leaned against the tree trunk for support. Although he looked pensive, his expression was only a minuscule reflection of the internal conflict he felt. He unconsciously knew what he had been doing to his student, with the low skill level she was at, he made it his goal to protect her because he could not risk losing more of his comrades. However, he did not know that his protection caused her to feel uneasy around him.

Gai turned to Kakashi with a sigh. "I thought you should know what you are doing to your own youthful student." He stated after a long period of silence. With that said, Gai jumped out of the trees and made his way towards his student and his "pseudo-student", leaving Kakashi to recede back into his own thoughts.

He was truly not cut out to be a teacher.

 **Wow, that was probably the longest chapter I've written in my entire career (which hasn't been very long, but it's still an achievement). Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Do you like the way I built up Sakura and Naruto's friendship? I did not want to jump right into it, otherwise it would have been very unrealistic, but do you guys think that the pacing was good?**

 **Please leave a review telling me what you thought. Now that senior year is upon me and I have college applications (which are hell) to write, the reviews will really keep me motivated. If it is to your convenience.**

 **As always, I hope you all have a fantastic day wherever you are. I'll see you guys next time!**


	5. Reconciliation

**All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

A week and a half had passed since she had asked Lee to be her teacher, and she decided that she had never made a better, or more painful, decision in her life. A week was not enough time to show a lot of improvement, but she could endure the challenges of the day better than she had before.

Her hair remained in a ponytail permanently, since she found it the most convenient way to keep her hair and also work out. The dress her parents had given her was replaced with a much more comfortable outfit, one she could maneuver around in easily. It consisted of a loose, dull-rose colored tank top with some navy blue capris-slacks. She wore black, fingerless gloves on her hands and the generic black ninja sandals on her feet. Lee approved immediately, saying that her youth shined even brighter through her new appearance.

Her relationship with Naruto only seemed to get stronger. She would have lunch with him at least twice a week and she would walk home with him every day after training. Although she still had not told him about her secret training, he was always there to make sure that she was okay when she looked like she was about to faint. He persisted with his inquiry on what she had been doing because he thought he would wear her down and finally get to the bottom of why she always showed up to training exhausted. Sakura just told him that she took morning runs, which was not a lie either.

Sasuke was the same as always. He still ignored her and practically everyone else around him. Her heart still pained at his lack of recognition of her newfound conviction to become stronger, and he looked completely unaffected by how she had stopped clinging to him for everything. However, she willed herself not to care; if she was to be a serious ninja, she couldn't worry about petty things such as boys. At least, that's what she tried to tell herself.

Kakashi seemed a little distant from her all of a sudden. Even though she was happy that he was not hovering over her and he gave her room to grow, he more often than not isolated himself from her. It was not as though he was ignoring her, for she saw the furtive glances that he would give her. They always looked so solemn, so serious, and she could never tell what he was actually thinking. It was if looking at her brought back terrible nostalgia for him, and every time he connected eyes with her, he was reminded of something so horrid that he was compelled to shield his eyes away. She wanted more than anything to find out what was wrong, since it affected her too, but she still could not bring herself to talk to him.

His small bout of silence changed, however, when she went to training one day.

Lee had not been there to train her in the morning because he and Gai went off somewhere to some mountain to "hone their skills by the power of youth". He said he would not be back for a couple of days and to just work on the skills he had shown her. His lack of presence was a little discouraging, because even though she did not want to admit it, she drew her strength from his encouragement. Not having him there made her feel a bit displaced, since she felt that she could not go anyone else for the support he gave her.

That was why she found herself on the training grounds, full of energy. In her eyes, it was a bad day to be so, since she had already completed the water-walking activity Kakashi had given them the day prior. She had fallen into the water a few times, but once she got the hang of it, her stable chakra control made it almost second-nature to her. She prided herself a little (or a lot) on being the only one on her team who caught on quickly. Kakashi had instructed her to not help Naruto nor Sasuke out, and have them figure it out by themselves.

That was why she had assumed her position at the bank of the river, watching the two boys struggle to amble across the stagnant water. She sighed deeply and shook her head as Naruto fell in once again, cursing his chakra for not working with him. Sasuke had been a bit luckier than him, but had only managed to walk a few steps before the water exploded under the massive amount of chakra he directed towards his feet. When he fell into the water again, he grunted at what a dumb exercise it was, but he was relentless. He would not stop until he had gotten the technique down, since it was common knowledge that all good shinobi knew how to walk on water.

Sasuke then looked at Sakura, sitting with her knees up to her chest, longing to do something other than wait for the two of them. His eyes narrowed at her. _I can't believe I'm lagging behind someone like that._ He thought with animosity. Sakura did not seem to be affected by his gaze, since she was not looking at him as she usually would. Instead, she was looking at Naruto, seeming desperate to rush over to him and help. _And since when has she actually_ cared _about that dead-last?_ He asked himself. Instead of contemplating an action of a girl he obviously didn't care much for, he just pulled himself out of the water and started his exercise again. He would make sure that he got it that time around.

Sakura just sighed as she watched Naruto tumble into the water for the umpteenth time. Her shoulders relaxed as she felt Sasuke divert his attention to his own training. She was not impervious to the glowers he gave her, but she couldn't bring herself to stare back at him for fear of just angering him more. She could not understand why he seemed even more peevish around her than before, since she had made the conscious effort to change her obsessive tendencies. Sakura just pulled her knees tighter into her chest and rested her chin on them. She just wished that she had something to do so that she could distract herself from him.

That was when she felt a hand atop her head, ruffling her hair a little. She looked up, squinting a little at the glare of the sun, to see Kakashi's figure overshadowing her. "Bored, are you, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sakura felt her anxiety around her sensei rise again. It was the first time he had actually struck a conversation with her in a week, and he acted like nothing had happened. She immediately returned her gaze to the ground while nodding slightly. Kakashi sighed, a little disappointed that she had not gotten over her insecurity around him.

"Well then, we can't have that. It's obvious you're a bit too advanced for these two, hm?" He asked. Sakura had to bite her lip to hold back a giggle, even though she knew it was far from true. Sasuke seemed to hear them and glared in their direction, but that only made him lose control of his chakra and fall into the river once again.

At that, Sakura couldn't help a little snort.

Kakashi smiled at her a little, relieved that she wasn't so up-tight around him that she was frozen solid with fear. He's met people who've had that reaction to him. "Come on, Sakura-chan." He said as he motioned for her to get up. She stood in a single movement, feeling fully energized to complete whatever task he would assign to her. The last time Kakashi had let Sakura go off on her own was when he assigned her to protect Tazuna. In turn, the situation kind of felt like déjà vu. "You boys continue to do this until you get it right! Sakura-chan and I are going to go do something different!" Kakashi called out to them as he started to walk away. Sakura followed after him quickly.

"I bet I'll figure it out before you do, teme!"

"In your pathetic dreams, dobe." She heard from behind her. She just rolled her eyes at their antics. She hoped that their competition would help them get the technique faster, because she knew that Naruto always did better if he had incentive. In that case, she decided she would help him out.

Before completely leaving the training grounds, she turned around. "Hey Naruto! If you can get the technique before Sasuke, I'll pay for the next meal!" She called out. At her voice, both of the boys' heads immediately shot up. Naruto's face immediately broke out into a grin, while Sasuke looked utterly stupefied.

"Hell yeah! You just wait, Sakura-chan! I'll beat this bastard no matter what!" Naruto said as he pumped his fist in the air.

"I'll hold you to that!" Sakura called back.

Sasuke said nothing.

 _She dropped the 'kun',_ he noticed. He just shook it off. As if he'd care.

* * *

Kakashi and Sakura walked slowly through the forest of the training grounds. Sakura was ambivalent about the situation: on one hand, she was excited to see what he had in store for her, but on the other, she was afraid of being with her sensei alone. She wish she had Naruto's support or even his cruddy jokes to lighten the mood. The aura that Kakashi gave off was aloof in a solemn way.

"Maa, Sakura-chan, do I have a fly on my back?" Kakashi asked casually as he pretended to twist his neck to peer at his back. It was a clear indication that he knew that she had been staring. Sakura's face quickly heated up and she shook her head violently.

"N-no, sensei. Nothing like that!" She said quickly. Kakashi just nodded his head once, but it was so faint that she doubted her own eyes.

"Well, I think this is a good spot." He said as he stood in a wooded clearing, much similar to the one they used to play the hide-and-seek-tag hybrid that Kakashi made up. The trees towered taller and the brown bark complemented the brown of the dirt beneath them, which made the leaves of the evergreen trees look even more vibrant. "I'm going to spend this time teaching you, Sakura-chan, because those two already have something to work on." Kakashi said.

Sakura cringed a little at the thought of leaving the two of them unsupervised. "Are you sure it is okay to leave Naruto and Sasuke alone?" Sakura asked dubiously.

Kakashi paused for a little before sighing, as if he had just realized that. He quickly made a shadow clone of himself. The clone looked at him, ready for instructions. "Make sure the two idiots over there don't drown each other." The clone nodded and then left. "Alright then, let's get started. I'm going to give you a couple of diverse techniques to practice Sakura, so try to divide your time between all of them." He instructed. Sakura nodded, still a bit unsure since she did not know exactly what she was doing.

"Okay…what are these techniques?" She asked.

Kakashi smiled a bit when she asked, and he could feel himself warm up a little with what he was about to tell her. He had devised those techniques specifically from what he had seen in her training with Lee and his own exercises. He truly put a lot of thought into his lesson, something he had not been used to doing since it had always come naturally to him.

"I'll demonstrate the first one." He said. "Now, you want to collect as much chakra in your feet as possible. This exercise correlates with all the other chakra control exercises we have been doing, but this one is much more advanced." Sakura nodded to show that she was listening.

Kakashi took off running before leaping a little bit. He did just as Lee had taught her and landed while barely making any sound, but then he was projected into the air. Sakura watched in amazement as a silver flash zig-zagged from tree to tree before settling himself on a branch. It had all happened in under a few seconds, so Sakura could barely keep up. It was if he had bounced on a trampoline with the amount of power that had propelled him into the air.

"Wow." Sakura whispered to herself. She could not formulate any other words besides that. She knew that the new technique would advance her evading capabilities and also her speed. However, even if she did learn the skill, there was no way she could be as fast as Kakashi.

Kakashi jumped down from the tree he was on, about ten meters away from Sakura. As if reading her thoughts, he responded, "It's all in the amount of chakra you put into it. Being able to propel yourself like this requires you to not only concentrate your chakra into one spot, but also put enough force in that it will give you a boost." He said. "It's much harder than it looks, but I know it will be a useful skill to have in the exam. Trust me on that." She could tell that he was insinuating something about the exam that was crucial for her to know, but keeping it conceived so that it would not be considered illegal. She appreciated his concern.

"Alright, I'll try it." She said as she closed her eyes shut, pulling on the chakra from her whole body and concentrating it into her feet. She felt the power drain from her other limbs and focus towards the spiral chakra network inside her foot. She could feel both of her feet fill with an energy that made her feel as though she was flying.

Sakura then started running in the same way Kakashi did. She took a leap, just as Lee had taught her, and just as the pad of her foot touched the ground, she focused all of her chakra into that point and tried to push herself upward. She felt a gust of wind overtake her face because of the change of motion as she sprung up towards the trees. She tried to perform the move Kakashi did when he crossed between two trees, but as she sprung herself off one of the trees, she did not have enough time to turn around before her back met the adjacent tree with a hard impact.

She immediately fell to the ground. She tried to push her chakra into her feet again so that she could attach herself to the tree, but her reflexes weren't fast enough. She braced for impact with the ground, having enough sense to cover her neck with both her hands before she damaged something that could not be fixed.

Suddenly, she felt two arms capture her before she connected with the ground. To stable herself a little, she clung on to the vest she knew too well. Kakashi was holding her princess-style under the tree which she fell from. She slowly let go of his vest and turned her attention to her hands. _I had to be saved by him again._ She said, her insecurities resurfacing.

He knew that what he did was the exact reason why Sakura did not feel comfortable around him. "Sakura-chan," he started, not looking directly at her as if not to intimidate her, which she was very grateful for, "don't think of it as you having to be rescued." He said as he placed her on the ground. Having been through the experience she had, she fell back a little bit and sat on the ground, waiting to stabilize herself. However, she still listened to what her sensei had to say. He knelt down so that he was eye-level with her. "We are comrades. If a comrade is in trouble, then their companions help them. That's just the way this life works. I didn't catch you because it was an obligation. I caught you because you are my friend and I don't want to see you hurt."

"Kakashi-sensei…" Her voice trailed off. She did not know what she wanted to say after that.

"I trust that if I was in a situation where I needed help, you would do just the same." He finished.

Sakura looked up at him. For the first time, he did not seem intimidating at all. He looked more like a brother, the way he smiled down at her benevolently. She took his words to heart. She was not an obligation of his, she was part of his team. But that meant that she would have to pull her own weight as well.

"I don't know sensei…" She said, a slight mischievous glint entering her eyes. "You look a bit heavy for me to catch." She joked.

"I hope you're not calling me fat, Sakura-chan." Kakashi said lowly. Sakura shrugged innocently. Kakashi narrowed her eyes at her playfully and ruffled her hair, taking some strands out of her ponytail. "Get back to training." He said simply. Sakura just smiled.

* * *

Sakura fell from the three for the twelfth time that hour. Kakashi did not make a move to catch her, and he expected her to know how to break her own fall. She did not mind this change, of course, because she knew that there wasn't always going to be someone there to catch her. He just stood against a tree, reading and occasionally looking up to monitor her progress.

Sakura breathed out an exasperated sigh as she struggled to get up again. "I don't understand what I'm doing wrong, sensei. Aren't I doing the same thing that you are?" She asked. Kakashi got off the tree he was leaning on and closed his orange book. He walked over to her and knelt down.

"Don't beat yourself up. I hope you weren't thinking that you would get it on the first try." Kakashi said. Sakura's shoulders sagged. She had been hoping that leaping would come to her just as easily as tree climbing and water walking. However, this required so much more chakra control and force than she had anticipated. "Also, I think you are too lenient with the amount of chakra you are putting in your feet. Training with Gai makes you a bit out of sync with your chakra control, doesn't it?" He said nonchalantly as he stood up and opened his book again.

"Yeah I guess so…" Sakura trailed off. Her head then snapped up to look at her sensei. "Wait, what did you just say?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"Hm? I said that training with a taijutsu master and his student must be much different that training with your chakra." He said, his face unchanged.

"Y-you know about that?" Sakura asked, looking down a little.

"Yes, I know you've been training with Gai and his look-alike protégé." He said as he once again snapped his book shut.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to look at the expression of disappointment that was probably on Kakashi's face. "I-I'm sorry, sensei! I…"

"No." Kakashi cut her off. "I am." He said. Sakura looked up at him, wiping away the tears that started to appear in her eyes. He took a seat next to her, his legs crossed. "I'm sorry that I drove you away. I guess I was too focused on Naruto and Sasuke and I neglected you." He said. "Also…you remind me of someone." He said solemnly.

"Of who, sensei?" Sakura asked. She could see Kakashi wince a little, as if just thinking about it stung. "On second thought…never mind. It doesn't matter." Sakura said quickly afterwards. She didn't want Kakashi to share with her anything that he didn't want to.

"Don't worry, it's fine." Kakashi assured. "But because you reminded me so much of…this person, I felt the need to shield you from harm, like I was never able to do to them." He said. Sakura pursed her lips, not knowing what to say to perhaps provide some comfort for her teacher. Before she could say anything, Kakashi spoke up again. "But because of that tendency of mine, I drove you away. Heh," he chuckled humorlessly, "this teaching thing is a lot harder than I thought it would be." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah," Sakura said, trying to sympathize with him although she knew she would never be able to, "but you do a pretty good job." She said. "I'm really sorry that I found another teacher without your permission."

Kakashi sighed deeply. "Don't be. If you hadn't, things would have continued as they were. Besides, many of the best shinobi in the world have more than one teacher. That is…if you'll still accept me as your teacher." Kakashi said, stealing a side-glance at her.

Sakura thought about it for a little bit. Not about what her answer would be, because it was obviously yes, but about what she could bring to the team under the guidance of two teachers. Looking over at her sensei, who had a stoic yet slightly apprehensive look on his face, she smiled. She nudged him a little bit, just as friends would do. Kakashi did not look shocked by the action, but simply raised an eyebrow. "Don't get all mushy, sensei. I didn't fall out of a tree a million times only to not allow you to teach me."

Kakashi smiled under his mask and pat her on the back. "I admire your tenacity, Sakura-chan. Just so you know, I'm not going to baby you anymore. If I have to push those two into a fiery pit for training, you're going with them.

Sakura nodded and shot him a thumbs up. "You got it, Kakashi-sensei." She said.

Kakashi slowly rose and dusted off his clothes. He lent a hand to her to pull her up, and she took it thankfully. "Well, now that that's settled, we can get back to…" Kakashi started before a loud voice interrupted him.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" A very obnoxious blonde called out to her as he raced through the brush towards her.

Kakashi just sighed. "We'll continue this later." He said. Sakura just nodded.

Naruto jolted to a stop right in front of her, and she had to stagger back to avoid colliding with him. He was drenched in what was probably a combination of water and sweat. His orange jacket sagged in accordance to his shoulders and his mouth hung open like a dog's. He looked absolutely exhausted, but he still found the energy to smile at her.

"Guess what, Sakura-chan!? I figured it out! Water walking has been mastered!" He exclaimed, waving his arms around erratically and zealously. Sakura grinned back at him.

"Awesome job, Naruto! I knew you'd get it!" She said as she gave him a high-five. Kakashi looked upon their interaction with amusement, glad that there was a positive relationship between the two unlike before. "Did you get it before…?"

"Hn. Of course he didn't." Sasuke cut her off as he appeared right next to Naruto. He was also soaked to the bone, but he didn't even look half as exhausted as Naruto did. It was probably his own pride that kept him from looking so.

A vein popped on Naruto's head, but Sakura could tell that he was trying to get over the disappointment of losing to his rival. Sakura bit her lip. She really didn't like seeing Naruto like that. She punched his shoulder slightly, making him look at her. "Hey, at least you got it down. How about that ramen? I'll still treat." She said, hoping to cheer him up.

Naruto's spirits were immediately rejuvenated. He hopped over to Sakura's side and swung an arm around her shoulders, letting the water from his jacket soak into her shirt. She felt a little peeved at that, but she just let it slide. "Yahoo! Let's go, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he started to drag her away.

Sakura slapped his arm a little bit to halt him. "Wait, wait, wait." She said quickly as she turned back to Kakashi and Sasuke. "Kakashi-sensei? Sasuke-kun? Would you like to join us?" She asked, her eyes filled with hope. Naruto scowled a little at the thought of the pervert sensei and the bastard joining them.

 _So the 'kun' is back, huh? It was probably just a slip of the tongue before._ Sasuke thought. _Wait…why do I care?_ He scolded himself. He then scoffed aloud, turning so his back was towards them and heading back to the training grounds. "As if I'd want to do that." He said coldly.

All the males were awaiting Sakura's reaction, even Sasuke, who had only taken small steps so that he could still hear her response.

To this, Sakura pouted a little, trying to get rid of the slight pain in her chest at his rejection. "Oh well," she said as she sighed. "Your loss, Sasuke-kun." She shrugged. Naruto just smirked at this.

"I'm afraid I also have some stuff I need to take care of." Kakashi said as he gave them a mock-salute. Sakura looked disappointed at this as well, but Naruto looked absolutely ecstatic.

"That's too bad. Maybe another time?" Sakura asked. Kakashi simply nodded. "Okay, let's go Naruto. Bye, sensei!"

"Later, Kakashi-sensei!" The two called out before they raced out of the forest towards the village. Kakashi looked after them fondly, shaking his head slightly before taking off in his own direction.

* * *

Kakashi stood in front of the Memorial Stone, holding some flowers. It was not a gloomy day, as it usually was when he decided to visit his old friends. He placed the flowers next to the stone and closed his eyes in a sign of respect.

 _I'll make you proud, sensei, Obito, Rin. I promise._ He thought. He then stood up and made his way towards the village, his orange book in hand but unopened.

 **Another chapter done! I really hope you guys enjoyed! Thank you to all of those who've made it this far, and a special thanks to all of those who reviewed!**

 **By the way, I kind-of, sort-of have a pairing in mind for this series, but I would love to hear from you guys about what you want to see. I've already decided it's not going to be LeeSaku, because I want them to have a strong mentor-student bond. Anyway, let me know down in your reviews what you want to see.**

 **As always, I hope that all of you beautiful people are having an absolutely fantastic day wherever you are. See you next time!**


	6. Fated Day

**All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

 **Also, I've read over your comments and I've considered my choices, but I decided to go with the pairing I originally intended. Don't worry, a lot of you guys actually named this individual, so I think you guys will be happy. But thank you all for your interest in this story, it is truly appreciated.**

 **So, on with the story!**

A foot swung up, aiming for a headshot, yet a bandaged arm quickly swiped upwards to catch it. The owner of the leg grunted in discomfort at her leg being held in such a position, but she chose not to back down, not until her adversary did.

"You are making your moves too obvious, Sakura-san. I can tell by the way you set your leg slightly back before you kick that you will be aiming for my head. Remember, the ignorance of your opponent is your greatest ally." The boy with a bowl haircut said as he lowered Sakura's leg down gently. Sakura put her hands on her hips and sighed as she rolled her ankles a little bit.

"I don't know how to _not_ make it obvious. I don't have the advantage of speed like you do, Lee." Sakura said.

"Faking the opponent out is your best bet, then. Practice the move I showed you yesterday." He said, getting into a defensive stance. Sakura sighed, knowing how badly her first attempt at the Leaf Whirlwind failed. However, there was no point learning something if one wasn't willing to work at it.

Sakura positioned herself as she needed to, taking a deep breath. As she exhaled, she flung her left leg towards Lee's head, much as she had done before, but this time it was too high to have purposefully hit his head. Lee responded as a normal person would by ducking, so Sakura quickly put her left foot down and spun into a roundhouse kick with her right leg, directed towards his ribs. The momentum of the spin gave it extra force.

Although Lee caught her leg, she knew that she had made contact with Lee's ribcage. If she had infused her chakra into that kick, it would have made a major impact.

Lee nodded proudly as he let go of her leg, which made her stumble back a little. "Well done, Sakura-san. The only reason I caught it is because I knew what you were about to do. It will be an effective weapon against an opponent." He said as he flashed her one of his winning smiles.

Sakura smiled back just as widely. "Thank you so much, Lee. Everything you've done for me has been such a huge help."

Lee waved off her thanks, but was appreciative anyway. "My training would not have been as effective if you were not so willing to work with me. I have to say that my experience with you was nothing short of lucrative for me as well. I have never had someone to teach before, and I have to say that I really like the responsibility."

Sakura walked up to him and swung her arms around his neck, ignoring that both of them were drenched in sweat. "I think you'd make a great sensei one day." Sakura said. Lee bashfully rubbed the back of his head before wrapping his arms around her waist as well. They shared this embrace for only a few moments before they broke off.

Lee looked at the sky. "It must be around the time you have to meet up with your team, is it not?" He asked. Sakura just shrugged as she sighed exasperatedly.

"I really don't know anymore. Kakashi-sensei has been getting later and later nowadays." She said. Lee pursed his lips.

"It is most likely because he is preparing for the Chūnin Exams. There is a lot to do before tomorrow. Even Gai-sensei has been spending a lot less time with my team." Lee said.

Something clicked in Sakura's head. "Come to think of it, Lee, I've never met your team before." Sakura said.

"As I have never met yours. Perhaps we will have time to acquaint ourselves during the exams." Lee said.

"Acquaint with whom?" A voice asked from behind Sakura, making her jump a little bit. She turned around quickly, her apple green eyes wide and alert. Standing behind her was a boy with long brown hair and familiar pearly white eyes, similar to those of Hyuuga Hinata from her class. She wondered if they could somehow be related.

He looked at her stoically, almost unimpressed, and regarded her with minimal concern. His gaze immediately shifted back to Lee, raising his eyebrow to push his inquiry. Contrasting his cold persona was Lee's bubbly one, and Sakura was caught in the middle. She instinctively scooted closer to her teacher.

"Ah, speaking of my team," Lee said as he went to stand next to Neji, laying a hand on his shoulder. Neji noticeably tensed yet did not move away, as if he had already given up on the fact that he would not be able to shake off his teammate even if he wanted to. "Sakura-san, I would like you to meet Hyuuga Neji. Neji, this is Haruno Sakura, the girl I've been training for the past few weeks." Lee explained. Sakura bowed in greeting, but Neji did nothing more than nod his head.

"So this is where you've been wasting your time." He said emotionlessly. Sakura shivered at his words, never hearing anything so cold from anyone except for maybe Sasuke. However, because she did not share the same affections for this male as she did Sasuke, she could not justify his rudeness. "You could have been working on your Hidden Lotus if you weren't here teaching her to…what? Throw a punch?" Neji mocked.

Lee removed his hand from his friend's shoulder, his mouth morphing into a frown. He knew that Neji was never one to spout compliments about anyone, but to say such horrible things right in front of his youthful student was not something that he would tolerate. Lee did not want to even gauge what Sakura's reaction was to that, because he could tell that it wasn't positive. "Yes, that is exactly what I have been doing. I would not call that a waste of time."

Neji scoffed a little bit and looked at Sakura, his eyes narrowed. As much as Sakura wanted to shirk back, she held her ground. She would not allow someone to offend her so openly and let them get away with it.

 ** _Yeah, give him a piece of our mind, shannaro!_** Inner screamed, wanting to strangle the boy that was talking to her Outer. Sakura agreed, but not overzealously. Instead, she just narrowed her eyes at him as well, and they seemed to be having a competition of who could squint the most.

"I have heard about you, Haruno Sakura. You're on the same team as that Uchiha." Neji said.

"What does Sasuke have to do with anything?" Sakura asked. Lee backed away slowly, staying close enough so that he could intervene but keeping his distance as to not appear that he was taking sides. He looked between his teammate and his student cautiously, aware of the growing animosity in the air.

"Your pink hair is not hard to miss. I recognize you as the one who always followed him around, the one who always cheered him on from the sidelines." He said with a sneer. "People like that have no place in the shinobi world. But that was just how you were meant to be. Trying to become "stronger" is just a farce."

Sakura gawked at him, fumbling with her words a little. "W-what do you mean "a farce"?" Despite her stutter, she was shaking with anger. Who was he to demean everything she had worked so hard to achieve? She realized that she had followed Sasuke around a lot and that she had to change her priorities to become a good kunoichi, but that was just what she did. She made the effort to change, and she came out stronger as a result.

"People who are born weak are weak. People who are born strong are strong. That is just how fate works." He said sententiously. "The sooner people learn that, the sooner they can stop being such a nuisance to everyone around them." Sakura glared at him, and he returned it with equal if not more intensity. Sakura's eyes quickly glanced at Lee, who seemed to be having an internal battle of his own. His fists were clenched with what Neji had to say. He always knew his teammate thought that, and it just solidified his drive to beat him. However, he did not like him saying something discouraging to his student.

Sakura's gaze immediately turned back to the brown-haired boy. " _Excuse_ me? What right do you have to say that? You don't even know me!" Sakura yelled. A vein seemed to pop on Neji's forehead, and it was obvious that he was annoyed she had not just accepted his conclusion. Sakura crossed her arms indignantly, wanting to get an explanation out of his pompous mouth before she flung him across the field.

"I don't need to know who you are to know that you have no natural talent. It is not hard to see. The only way to be a successful ninja is to be born with this talent. Everyone else…" He was not able to finish his statement before Lee intervened. In a millisecond, Lee had appeared between them, kicking his leg up so that it would make contact with Neji's jaw. Neji dodged, but only by a narrow margin. He jumped back a few feet and narrowed his eyes at his teammate, who stood in front of Sakura protectively.

"I have lived with your ideals for years, and that has been beneficial to my goal to prove that hard work can overpower natural talent. Your criticism of my style of fighting has only pushed me to become a better taijutsu user, because I am one of the people you state are weak because they have no natural talent, and I thank you for that. However," Lee said as he looked over his shoulder at Sakura, whose hands were still clenched, "I will not allow for you to insult my student, who has worked so hard to come from where she has. She has shown inexplicable bravery in her attempts to become stronger. Your advice for her to give up is completely obsolete."

Sakura felt herself tear up at Lee's defense of her, knowing that she should be the one telling all of those things to that arrogant bastard. However, what Lee had said sparked a new resolve within her. Her prior goal was to just become stronger so she did not drag her team down and so that she could protect them as they did her. But now, she had a new goal.

She would prove that Hyuuga wrong. She would prove that hard work and effort went a long way in the ninja world.

She would not just do it for herself, but for Lee, who had given up so much of himself, put so much faith in her, to see her blossom. It was obvious that Lee regarded Neji with respect, but he in return just disparaged Lee. She did not care if Neji was Lee's teammate or friend or whatever he was. He wasn't going to get away with insulting her teacher.

Neji closed his eyes and shook his head. "Don't spout absurdities, Lee. You are not so…" He started in an irritatingly calm manner before he was abruptly cut off by a punch directed towards his face. He quickly caught the smaller fist in his larger hand, effectively cutting off the impact. However, he could feel the sheer force that surged through it. He stared into the eyes of the girl who he had just called weak. He did not take a single word of what he said back, but he saw something in her eyes that he had not foreboded. They looked fierce and relentless, and held a clear antagonism for him that he never thought could come from a whimsical follower of the Uchiha.

Sakura did not flinch at his counteract. She had expected him to block her attack, since it was obvious that he considered himself some "natural prodigy", but she had him where she wanted him. She had his attention.

"Listen, you jerk," she growled, using a vice tone that she never thought she had possessed, "if you were going to write off my attempts as useless, that's fine. I don't care about what you say about me. But if you _think_ I'm going to stand by and watch you insult every single person that has strived to fix their mistakes, castigate _every single person_ who has worked day and night to work hard to achieve what they want, then you are dead wrong."

Neji did not know how to respond, but he masked his surprise with a stoic façade. All he could do was internally roll his eyes. It seemed that Lee's student had adopted the same ideals he had. Neji sighed at how bothersome that would be, since now two people would be breathing down his back about "hard work" and "dedication". He mentally sighed at the new development.

"You have no sense of reason. How can someone without talent from birth ever hope to be strong? You may be able to improve clan techniques and other inherited jutsu by training, but there is no reason for anyone without those things to continue their career. What do you come from?" Still clutching her fist, he set her hand down so that he could scan her over, his eyes landing on the little white circle on the rim of the dull-rose tunic. "A merchant family?" He asked mockingly.

Sakura tore her fist out of his hand, trying to ignore the pain that shot through it because of his strong grip. She wiggled her fingers a little bit behind her back, but did not move her gaze from him.

"My family has nothing to do with anything!" She screamed at him. She was starting to get fed up with his arrogance and unresponsiveness, but it was making her lose her confidence. "No one's family…has anything to do with this…" Her voice trailed off a little bit, but still held the same amount of anger. "If you say that, you're putting down those who could not change where they came from." She thought about the disapproving looks on her parents' faces when she told them that she wanted to be a ninja instead of taking up the family trade. "You're putting down those that had not been born with "favorable" circumstances." images of Lee and his intense training appeared in her mind, along with his encouraging smile. "You're putting down those…who have never even known their family." The images shifted to her blonde friend, sitting on the swing in the playground of the academy, too feared to be approached by anyone.

"Sakura-san…" Lee started, but Sakura turned to look at him over her shoulder and shook her head, tacitly telling him that it was her fight.

Neji's brows scrunched, marring his picturesque features. "I do not see the fault in that. Why would you not talk down to those who pretend to be something they are not." He said as he turned his back to her, indicating that he was done with their conversation. "I am not disrespecting those who are born civilians that follow their parents into civilian jobs. At least _those_ people are aware of their destiny." He stopped, but still did not turn around to face her. "Everyone has a destiny that is preconceived. Whether you like it or not, your life will follow according to your destiny. You'd do well to think about that before you get yourself hurt." He said, but showed no evidence that he was actually concerned for her well-being.

As Neji got further and further away, Sakura's anger began to rise. "That jackass." She grumbled as she started to stomp after him, but a hand caught her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"Please, Sakura-san. That is enough." He said. "I am sorry for his behavior, but this is just how he always has been. He will not change unless he is proved to be wrong." He said, a certain fire lighting in his eyes.

A small smile spread across Sakura's face. "Do you believe…you'll be the one to prove him wrong?" She asked. Lee's face remained serious as he nodded.

"It is my life's goal to defeat him. Although Neji seems to be leagues away from me, I know I will catch up to him. I will not give up until he sees his fault, no matter what it takes." He held up his bandaged fist and looked at it as it clenched. The sight propelled Sakura to join him, since they shared a common goal.

"Then, as your student, I will make that my goal as well." She said definitively. Lee looked at her in shock. "No one insults my friends and gets away with it. You better hope that you get to him first, Lee, because when I get my hands on him, I'll show him what a "useless civilian" can do." She said, mentally patting herself on her back for her strong voice.

Lee's round eyes widened until they were in complete circles. He looked at the girl who had once been crying on a stone of the outskirts of the village. Now, only a short time later, she had grown into someone who had gained not only his respect, but his trust. The way she stood up for him reminded him only of something Gai would do, and he could not have been more appreciative of it. But, at the end of the day, she was his student, and he would not allow the student to outdo the master in such a small timeframe.

"I suppose it is a race then, Sakura-san." Lee said as he closed his eyes and nodded his head with a smile, accepting the challenge.

"Please, Lee. Call me Sakura." She said kindly. Lee opened his eyes and tilted his head slightly. "I am not only your student. I am your friend, aren't I?" She asked.

Lee nodded immediately. "Of course you are! I am more than happy to refer to you as such, my youthful Sakura." He said with his signature wink.

Sakura sweat dropped. _He didn't need to add the "youthful" part._ She thought, but she shook it off. That was just who her quirky friend was, and she would not want him any other way.

It suddenly occurred to her that although she issued a so-called challenge to Lee, she had no means of attaining her goal. With how she was now, there was no chance of ever being on the level that Neji was. She needed to learn a stronger technique, even though she barely carried out the Leaf Whirlwind and the Dynamic Entry with her current speed level. However, she knew that she needed something else.

Lee noticed her fallen expression, the grin dropping from his face. "Sakura? What is wrong?" He asked her. Sakura did not respond as she took a step towards him, her eyes still directed towards the ground. She did not know how he was going to react to what she was about to say, but she knew that she needed to ask.

"Lee," She started. Lee had to strain his ears to hear her, "please teach me your Lotus technique."

* * *

At least her answer had not been a flat-out no.

Lee had pestered her for a good five minutes about how it took great strength and speed to achieve that skill, and although he had full confidence that with time she would learn it too, he also worried about teaching her something that had such a taxing impact on the body at such an early stage in training. There was also the fact that it took a great deal of time each day to master it, and the Chūnin Exams started the next day.

Mustering all of the humility she had in her, she just smiled and said it was fine. She didn't think Lee was talking down to her or anything of the like, and she knew that he was just trying to look out for her. It was also true that if she set her sights on learning something that Lee took years to master before something as important as the Exams, she would only end up harming herself. She would just have to stick to what she had in her arsenal, which had grown quite significantly since she had begun her training.

She wiped the sweat away from her brow as she made her way to the training grounds to meet her team. She still was not completely over what that Neji guy said. Who was he to make assumptions about her? She didn't need to measure up to his perception of strong.

 _Man, if I ever meet that guy in a fight, I'll pummel him._ Sakura mentally grumbled.

 ** _I would support you on that, but you'll probably get your ass kicked._** Inner Sakura replied.

 _Whose side are you on?_ Sakura asked her incredulously. The monochrome figure shook her head and shrugged.

 ** _I'm just saying, live to fight another day._** Sakura raised an eyebrow on the outside. Since when had Inner changed from pestering to…proverbial?

"Uh, Sakura-chan? Are you okay?" A voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She yelped slightly as her eyes focused on the figure before her, whose eyes were squinted in confusion. "You look like me after I drink milk." He said matter-of-factly.

She brushed his insinuation off. "Oh, are you lactose-intolerant?" She asked. She knew that many people in the village happened to be.

"No, he just drinks expired milk." Sasuke commented smartly from behind him. "Dobe." He added. Naruto turned on him and started a verbal battle with him, one the cold prince himself seemed to be winning.

Sakura stared at their spectacle and soon found herself delving into her thoughts again. She didn't exactly know when it happened, but the magnetic pull she thought was there between her and Sasuke was just…gone. She knew she still harbored an attraction to him, but she started to see how he had always been in a new light. He had always been mean to Naruto and had always been annoyed of her. She couldn't believe that she didn't see how much she had been pining after someone who would obviously never return her affections. In turn, it was making her life miserable, and probably irritating everyone else.

It was not that she disliked Sasuke; not at all. She knew what had happened to his clan, and Sasuke's personality was just a product of that. However, she started to view his asinine tendencies as more and more off-putting.

It reminded her of a certain brown-haired shinobi that she had met this morning.

"Ahem." A gruff voice interrupted. "If you two are done with your lover's quarrel, I would like to give a message so I can leave."

"Who said that?" Naruto yelled, looking around frantically in confusion.

"Down here, you twit." The voice said again. The three Genin turned their eyes towards the ground, where the sound was coming from, to see a small brown dog sitting there, his eyes half-opened and unimpressed. "So you're the kids Kakashi's always complaining about huh? Something about you guys never showing up on time."

 _What the hell?_ He's _the one who doesn't show up on time,_ seemed to be the consensus of all three ninjas. The dog did not look like he believed the one who told him either.

"Hey Sakura-chan," Naruto leaned over to whisper to her, "there's a talking dog here."

"I can see that, dummy." Sakura said as she shook her head with a sigh.

"And I can hear you both, so be quiet." He said, reaching up with his hind legs to scratch behind his ear.

"Who are you? Kakashi's ninken?" Sasuke directed to the dog. The dog looked at the Uchiha, as if recognizing him. Kakashi probably had said something about him to the dog.

"My name is Pakkun, and yes, I'm his ninken." He said. "He has a message for the three of you. He sent me to tell you that he'll be unable to make it to training today and that you should all just train without him." He said.

"Did he have to send you _three hours after he said to meet him_? _"_ Sasuke asked in obvious annoyance.

"I don't like your sass, boy. Even though I don't always agree with everything he does, he has a good reason not to be here today. I suppose you want to participate tomorrow in the Exams, right?" The three of them nodded. "Then you best let him do his thing." He said. "Well, that's all I want to say. Get back to training. Trust me, the Chūnin Exams are nothing to take lightly." He advised before he started to walk off. However, before he could make it a considerable distance away from them, he turned back and sniffed slightly. "You, girly, can you come here for a moment?" He asked.

"Me?" Sakura asked, pointing at herself. She then realized how stupid the question was since she was the only girl there. She cautiously went over to the ninken and bent down, her long ponytail flipping over her shoulder towards the ground.

Pakkun moved towards her and started to sniff at her ponytail. Sakura felt a little disturbed at this, but just remained frozen. Once he finished, he closed his eyes and nodded his head as if he had come up with some sort of conclusion. "Yes, it is the same." He said.

"What…is the same?" She asked tentatively. Pakkun looked her in the eyes.

"The shampoo you use. It is the same as mine." He said, before turning and walking away again. Sakura's eyes widened and her skin paled. Her self-consciousness started to rise again as she quickly took her ponytail in her hand and started sniffing it.

She heard a burst of laughter from behind her, and turned to see Naruto doubled over on the ground, holding his stomach and erupting in laughter. Her eyes then looked at Sasuke, who seemed to have a faint trace of a smirk on his face.

She glared at both of them. "I better not hear a word out of either of you about this."

Laughter just grew louder.

* * *

"Hey guys! I have a great idea!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his arms around both Sasuke and Sakura's necks and interlocking them in his hold. Granted, he was much more forceful with Sasuke and it looked more like he was trying to strangle him than show friendliness.

"If it is as stupid as most of your other ideas, then I don't think I want to hear it." Sasuke said as he pushed himself away from Naruto's choke hold, sending him into Sakura, who stumbled upon the sudden impact.

"That hurt, bastard!" Naruto yelled. "Besides, this is a great idea! Why don't we have a free-for-all?" He asked. "Since there's three of us there's no way we can spar equally. It'll give us a good chance to train in a situation where we're being attacked by multiple people."

Sakura nodded her head approvingly. "That's actually a really good idea Naruto. Isn't it, Sasuke?" She asked, a bit of a teasing tone to her question. Sasuke remained quiet, since it was proven that someone as dense as Naruto could come up with something that actually made sense. "I'm in for sure."

"Yahoo! What about you, teme?" Naruto asked eagerly. He could tell that Sasuke really wanted to decline by the way he was shifting oddly from foot to foot, reluctant to give his answer to them.

"Hn. I guess a little practice wouldn't hurt." He grumbled. Naruto cheered and high-fived Sakura, who was equally excited.

"This is going to be awesome, believe it! So when do we start?" He asked, looking to and from both of his teammates. He happened to miss the furtive glance that Sakura sent Sasuke and the slight nod he gave in response.

"Right…now!" Sakura said as she flipped herself over so that she was spinning herself in a handstand. "Leaf Hurricane!"

Naruto immediately jumped back in reaction to the attack, but it still got part of his jaw and sent him flying. Mid-air, he made a hand sign to summon his shadow clones, but Sasuke appeared behind him before he could, kicking him in the back and sending him towards the ground. The pain didn't distract him as he finished his hand-signs, creating two clones that caught him before his face made contact with the ground.

"Hey, you two teamed up on me!" Naruto yelled angrily. Sakura shrugged innocently and Sasuke just shook his head.

"It was your idea, Naruto." Sakura said before she took some shuriken out of her pouch and flung them towards Sasuke. They happened to miss by quite a bit, since he barely had to dodge them, but it showed that she was not on his side, and he was still her enemy.

"Alright then! Time to get serious!" Naruto yelled. "Shadow clone…!"

"Fire Release...!"

"Dynamic…!"

* * *

The three of them laid on the ground as they watched the sun set above them, taking in the brilliant orange and red hues of the sky. Their heads were placed in a circle as their limbs sprawled outwards. Naruto and Sakura were panting hard, large smiles on their faces. Sasuke looked like he was making a conscious effort to show that he was not tired, but he was failing miserably. At the end of the day, after five full hours of sparring with almost no break, anyone would be tired.

"That was great! Especially because I won!" Naruto yelled as he pumped his fist directly towards the air. This got indignant calls from both Sakura and Sasuke, although the latter's sounded much more sarcastic.

"It was really fun. We should do it more often." Sakura suggested as she laid her head on the palms of her hands. Sasuke did not say anything, but grunted in response.

"Oh come on teme, you know you had fun too." Naruto mocked.

"Shut it, dobe." Sasuke said with a roll of his eyes.

Sakura giggled at their interaction as a warm feeling overcame her. Now that she thought about it, it was probably the first time that they had bonded in such a way. Even though Naruto was still boisterous and Sasuke was still distant, she could feel a bond growing between the three of them. She liked to think that it started because of her change, but she really couldn't say.

"Things are going to be different, aren't they boys?" She asked suddenly. Both of the boys strained their necks to look at her, questioning her with their eyes. "Well, one of us might become a Chūnin and the rest remain Genin. The exams will put us to the test against each other." Sakura chuckled bashfully. "I don't know about you two, but I'm scared out of my wits." She admitted.

Naruto grinned. "Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan! No matter what happens, we're still in this together as a team, right?" He said. Sakura grinned back in agreement.

"Unfortunately." Sasuke replied, but Sakura could see the faint trace of a smile on his face. Sakura could not keep herself from staring. Sasuke's smiles were rare and almost so trace that they looked like just a trick of the eye. Once Sasuke realized that Sakura had noticed his broken façade, his face immediately reverted to stoicism. However, that did not stop the smile of Sakura's face. "It's getting dark. It's about time we headed back." He said, trying to cover up his slip. He got up and started to dust himself off.

"Aw man, big day tomorrow guys!" Naruto said as he sat up and ruffled his hair between his fingers. "Sakura-chan?" He asked when she did not get up with them.

"I think I'm going to stay out here a bit longer. The sky is really pretty." She said. "Would you guys…like to stay with me?" She asked nervously.

There was a slight pause, but then Naruto immediately leaned himself back again. "Of course, Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed. "Come on teme, don't be the odd one out."

Sasuke scowled and looked like he was about to tell Naruto off. However, mid-word, he closed his mouth. He simply turned his nose up proudly as he sat on the ground, laying his head back down. "I guess a few minutes wouldn't hurt." He muttered. Sakura and Naruto looked at each other in surprise, before a grin stretched over each of their faces. Sasuke ignored them.

They all then turned their gaze up towards the sky silently. The sky started to drift into purple and blue shades, but that did not prompt them to go back. Instead, they just remained together, for the first time, as a team.

 **Hi everyone! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I think it's probably obvious who the main pairing is going to be. I think that NejiSaku also makes sense in a story where she is trying to go against the "destiny" she had laid out for herself. Also, I'm quite the NejiSaku closet shipper, so this'll be fun. :)**

 **Thank you to all of you guys for reading up to this point, and a special thanks to everyone who reviewed and supported this story through its growth. I honestly could not have done it without you guys, especially considering this is my first Naruto fic. So, once again, thankyou!**

 **Anyways, I hope that you are all having a fantastic day wherever you guys are! See you next time!**


	7. Chunin Exams Commence!

**All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

It was finally the day of the Chūnin Exams.

Her team had broken off in their separate directions and went home at around ten at night because they were entranced by the beauty of the stars. Sasuke interrupted and said that they should get some sleep since the next day was going to be hectic for all of them. Despite this, when Sakura got home, she barely slept a wink, switching between pacing up and down her room and curling up into a little ball on her bed and rocking herself back and forth. Her anxiety was literally eating her alive.

Come morning, Sakura's eyes felt red and puffy, and they produced tears that were more from just the dryness of her eyes instead of actual sadness. She did her best to straighten out her hair and look as presentable as possible before she left, but this only helped marginally.

The instructions told her to meet at the examination hall at nine. Looking over at the time, she saw that it was only six forty-five. _Plenty of time to go out for a run._ She thought to herself. Strapping her weapons pouch around her waist and securing the hitai-ate on her head, she made her way down the stairs for breakfast. She greeted her parents, who looked like they were delved deep into some merchant papers they had to complete. They greeted her back fondly, but without looking at her, telling her that breakfast was on the stove.

She knew that they were upset about her decision to become a ninja, and even more so about her taking the Exams. However, it was her choice to make, and she did not want to live the life of a merchant. She knew that her family would still love her no matter how angry they were with her.

She quickly ate her breakfast and went outside to do a few warm-up stretches before she set out on her run. She found that she actually very much enjoyed her runs, and that they gave her a time to not only improve her physical state, but her mental state. She didn't have to think about how hard running was or how much she wanted to give up, because those worries just washed over her as she worked up the endorphins. In effect, it boosted the self-confidence that she had been deprived of for twelve long years.

Sakura made her way to the main gates of the village, turning corners with great speed since most people did not seem to be up at that time. Or so she thought until she came face-first into another person's chest, sending them both flying in opposite directions by a couple feet. Sakura slid back, but bent her knees to steady herself. She clutched her nose in pain. Whatever or whoever she made contact with must have been made out of bricks or something.

She looked up to see Sasuke rubbing his shoulder and wincing slightly. _Oh, so it was his shoulder blade._ She thought with a grimace. She massaged her nose a little bit more.

Sasuke looked up at her and glared slightly, more out of annoyance than actual hate. "Watch where you're going, Sakura." He scolded lightly.

"Sorry, Sasuke. I didn't know anyone was up at this time." Sakura said sheepishly as her hand left her nose to rub the back of her head.

Sasuke grunted. "Are you going for a run?" He asked. Sakura tilted her head to the side, as if she was inquiring whether he actually said that or not. He usually never questioned her on her life or what she did, so it was definitely something new. "Sakura?" He asked again, annoyed that he did not get an answer the first time.

"Huh?" She said as she snapped out of her daze. "Oh…oh yeah! I am. What about you?" She asked.

Sasuke curtly nodded. "Likewise." He said monotonously.

"Um, well, that's nice." Sakura said as she started rocking on her toes and heels. "I'll see you later today?" She asked.

"Hn." He grunted in agreement, not directly looking at her.

 _Okay, I think that's my cue to leave._ Sakura thought, trying desperately to find a way out of the awkward situation. She then started to run passed Sasuke and towards her designated route, feeling the wind on her face once more.

It was not long before she noticed that someone had joined her. She quickly glanced at the splurge of black beside of her and almost gaped when she saw Sasuke running beside her, a stoic look on his face.

"S-Sasuke, what are you doing?" She asked, still running.

"I was going this way as well." He said simply, not skipping a beat despite his pace.

 _Wait, but then why did we…? You know what, never mind._ Sakura thought, giving up on the idea of ever truly understanding the brooding boy. "So you decided to run with me?" She asked, a slight grin appearing on her face. She couldn't help but feel herself warm up, but she immediately cursed herself mentally for the infatuation that started to resurface.

Sasuke didn't answer. He looked quite fed up with her asking so many questions when he was trying to get a workout. However, he kept in step with her. "Just try to keep up." He ordered gruffly. Sakura had to keep herself from snorting.

She did just as he told her to do with a little difficulty. After all, Sasuke was still a great deal faster than her, but she didn't have to tell him to slow his pace even once, even though she burned her lungs to keep up with him. She could tell that he was surprised, if not faintly impressed, by her slight development. That revelation made her heart swell, since she would probably never evoke more of a reaction than that from him.

By the time they both stopped running, the sun had fully risen over Hokage Rock, indicating that it was almost time for them to head back to get ready for their Exams. Sakura struggled to keep her breathing steady. Although she had done many endurance runs with Lee before, the run she had just done was nerve racking. She felt an overwhelming need to prove herself to Sasuke; to prove that she had not been wasting her training time. Sasuke's face remained mostly indifferent, but she could tell that he looked at her with trace curiosity.

In addition to that, he looked like something was agitating him and he was having an internal battle to figure out what to do about it.

Sakura took in a large gulp of air and straightened her back, rolling her shoulders a little. "We should head back. The Exams are about to start." She said, making her way back to her house. "I'll see you…"

"Why are you so different now?" He interrupted her, making her turn around to face him in shock. She had not expected him to ask her so forthright. Her eyebrows furrowed a little bit, unsure of how to phrase her explanation of her drastic change.

She decided to push a little further to find out what kind of answer he wanted. "What do you mean, Sasuke?" She asked, not feigning innocence, but asking him in genuine inquiry.

"Hn. You've actually started to take your life as a ninja seriously, something you've never done before. The shinobi world has always been a grand place for you, and you felt that you didn't need to try hard on anything besides your looks." He replied. "What caused this change?" Sakura briefly thought about how she had never heard him say so much, especially to her. She shook her head a little to rid her of the tangent thought.

She looked down on the dirt path, unable to meet the eyes of the boy in front of her. "I decided that there are some things that are more important than looks." She started to kick the dirt beneath her feet a little bit, even though she felt Sasuke's irritation rise from her mumbling. "I almost lost you during the mission in the Wave, and from what I've heard, I almost lost Naruto too. I can't bear to imagine what would have happened if you two died, while I just stood by. I wouldn't be able to live with myself." She finished. "I want to become strong to protect the people around me, and I want to be able to make them proud of me. I want to become a true shinobi instead of the coward I am right now."

She squeezed her eyes shut as she waiting in apprehension for Sasuke's reply. She started to twiddle her thumbs behind her back as the tension in the air rose. She wondered what his reaction would be. Would he reject her and demean her efforts, much like Neji did, or would he be accepting of her realization of her flaws?

"Stop doing that. It's annoying." He said. She immediately froze, not knowing what exactly it was that she was doing. In that case, she just stopped doing everything all together, even breathing. "If someone is talking to you, you look them in the eyes. And I'm not going to strain my ears to hear you." Sasuke said with a bitter tone.

At this, Sakura finally took in a breath after many moments and slowly rose her head, finding the strength to look at him even though his gaze bore down on her. He was not too close, a couple meters off, so she still felt her bubble of personal space intact.

Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes at the slight fear in her bright emerald eyes. Even after every change she had been through in such a short amount of time, she was still afraid about what he though. How annoying.

"You speak as if you have already experienced true suffering, but let me tell you, you haven't." He said darkly. Sakura's eyes widened.

"W-what?" She said quietly.

"You haven't experienced the things that a normal ninja has to deal with every day: suffering, death, and killing. Just looking upon a scene and pitying yourself does you no good. You have to have the conviction from experience to fuel your drive to become strong. Only then, you will achieve true power." He said.

Sakura was a little confused about what he was trying to say, not exactly taking his advice to heart. She was quite aware about her inexperience with matters concerning the ninja lifestyle; however, she was still just a Genin. If given time, she was sure that she could learn. Even though she never wanted to experience the horror and solitude Sasuke and Naruto had gone through, it did not mean that she could not become strong.

Sasuke could see that she was mulling over what he had just said, and decided that it was not worth his time to wait for her to come to the realization that she would not be able to gain the strength she wanted without some sort of driving reason. He acknowledged her desire to get stronger, and a part of him even slightly commended her for it (since it would reduce her unsettling ignorance), but he knew that she would not rise to the occasion without something to propel her further. That was something he had to learn the hard way.

Sasuke wordlessly turned his back to her to go back to the Uchiha compound to get ready for the events of that day. However, before he could get too far, the girl he had left behind called out to him with the words that sounded so foreign to him coming from her.

"Y-you're wrong, Sasuke." She said, choking on her words slightly. There were times that she did not agree with what he thought, but she had never out rightly said it. In a way, it felt like a huge burden had been lifted off of her shoulders to call him out, and she felt a wave of euphoria from those three simple words. "You're wrong." She repeated again, a little stronger.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks, but did not turn around to face her. He glanced at her slightly from his peripheral vision to show that he was attentive to what she was about to say, but still conveyed that he could still brush off whatever it was.

"I don't need to experience what you did to become strong. I have my own drive that I have to work with." She said as she clenched her fists. "A path that is solely focused on hate and revenge will only lead someone astray. I recognize your aspiration, Sasuke. If killing that certain someone is your goal, then…I will not say anything." She told him, looking at him directly with hardened eyes for the first time, even though he probably barely saw them with his back turned. "But I'll show you that someone can become strong without that hate in their heart. I'll become strong in my own way, and then I won't be in your or Naruto's shadows anymore."

After her monologue, she ran away from him, unable to talk to him any more than she had. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and her limbs still hurt from her run, but she did not slow her pace until she had reached her house.

Once she was out of sight, Sasuke finally allowed himself to turn around and stare after her. He moved his jaw from side to side as he thought about what she had just told him. At least she wasn't stupid enough to not acknowledge how his suffering made him stronger, but he felt slightly irked at her own drive. In the end, she was still naïve, but at least she tried, even he could give recognition to that change.

She would become stronger without losing anyone dear to her? _Hn,_ He thought as a slight smirk appeared on his face. _I can't wait to see it._ He thought, even though he did not put as much mockery into his own thoughts as he thought he would have.

* * *

Kakashi's instructions from a couple days ago had been very clear: meet at Room 301 at nine o'clock sharp. Team Seven decided to meet at their usual bridge before making their way down to the examination hall. All of them were tense, all of them were apprehensive, but they all had different ways of dealing with it.

Naruto lightheartedly tried to release the tension by cracking some jokes and trying to poke fun at Sasuke. Despite her worry for the day, Sakura found it within herself to smile at his antics, even though her body was still shaking. Sasuke was noticeably irritated about what Naruto was saying to him, but he just walked a few paces ahead of them, trying to focus on what that day held for the future of his shinobi career.

He had not mentioned what had happened that morning. For that matter, he had not even acknowledged Sakura since that encounter. Although she felt a bit perturbed by his negligence, she found herself thinking that she did not exactly want to talk to him either for fear that he would say something that would break her confidence so good. Instead, she just focused on Naruto.

"Ne, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked from beside her. Sakura sighed and turned towards him, anticipating another joke. "Do you think Kakashi-sensei was late to his own exam?" He asked with a big grin.

Sakura could not help the slight snort that his question elicited. Naruto's grin grew bigger and the sound of her laugh, so he laughed along with her. Both of them were completely unaware of the furtive smirk that snuck onto Sasuke's face.

When they reached their destination, they immediately went to the staircase to make their way to the third floor. After climbing one flight of stairs, they made it to the next floor. However, before they could walk down the hall to reach the next staircase, they stopped when they saw a group gather around a room. Sakura raised an eyebrow at this. Was there another event going on that they did not know about? Since it was only the second floor, it could not have been the Chūnin Exams.

But as her team neared the place of interest, she saw that the room number was, indeed, 301. Sakura knew for a fact that they were only on the second floor, and she knew that the room numbers were numerically organized so that the first number corresponded with the floor they were on.

Before she had time to question this further, she saw a very familiar figure knocked back by two slightly older boys. She could immediately tell that Lee was putting not effort into the confrontation because he would not be beaten back so easily, but she still felt herself tense at the offense that was taken on him. Beside him, the brown-haired Hyuuga stood with his arms crossed, glaring at the two males before him. A girl with brown hair put up into buns knelt beside Lee, helping him up. She was someone that Sakura did not recognize, but she deduced that she was the third member of Lee's team.

"We need to get in there to take the exams. Please let us through." She pleaded in a calm tone before she was pushed back as well. Muttering erupted from the crowd around them, talking about how harsh the two guards were being.

One of the guards, the one with slightly long brown hair, scoffed. "If you think that was harsh, then none of you are ready to take the exams." He said.

"Yeah," said the other guard, one with black hair and a slightly big nose, "we're being pretty lenient compared to what the exam is going to be like. If you can't handle it, we suggest you just turn back now." The other Genin standing before the door clenched their fists and gritted their teeth, but did nothing to stop them from pushing them around. A few of them even looked like they were going to give up with how mean the people were being.

 _This is all wrong._ Sakura thought with skeptical eyes. _I know for a fact that this is the second floor._ She then looked at the number atop the door, narrowing her eyes at it. It was at that moment that she saw a slight distortion in her sight. Her eyes widened at the revelation, and she was about to speak up, but Sasuke beat her to it.

"That's a nice little speech, but why don't you release the genjutsu you cast and save all of us some trouble? We know this isn't the right room." Sasuke said aloofly with his hands in his pockets. Everyone besides Sakura, and probably Neji because his pride did not allow him, looked at Sasuke in shock.

"Teme, what are you talking about? It says up there, Room 301." Naruto said as he pointed above the door. Sakura wanted to smack her forehead at his denseness, but realized that many of the other Genin there had not realized the genjutsu either, so it was not his fault.

"No, dobe. This is all an illusion to fool us into thinking that it's the right room." Sasuke said as he sighed with boredom. He then glanced at her slightly, as if directing the attention he had accumulated over to her. "Isn't that right, Sakura?" He asked. Sakura jumped a little bit at the recognition he gave her, mostly because it was the first time he talked to her that morning.

"O-of course." Sakura said, thankful that she had the opportunity to show that she noticed the genjutsu as well. She then looked towards the staircase. "This is only the second floor, so it is impossible for the room number to have a three in front of it." She said as she brought her hands into a sign that she had learned and perfected in the academy. "Kai!" She said, releasing the genjutsu. Exclamations of awe and anger erupted as the number morphed into 201.

Sakura pursed her lips, a little proud of herself for figuring it out. However, she just left her joy at that, since just because she could release a simple genjutsu did not mean that she could handle a high-level one. She glanced at Sasuke, knowing that he was to thank for the opportunity. However, he did not reciprocate her look.

The two guards in front of the door smirked. "Well lookie here, two know-it-alls who think they have it made." The one with black spiky hair said as he looked at Sasuke, disregarding Sakura, much to her relief. "Let's see how you deal with _this_." He said as spun into a kick, headed directly for Sasuke. Sasuke responded immediately, throwing out his own leg to deflect the attack.

Before anyone could fathom what happened, a green flash appeared between them and held both of their legs, effectively stopping their attacks. Sasuke's eyes were wide, not anticipating anyone stopping an attack as fast as his.

"This is not the place, my youthful comrades. Let us save the fighting for the exam." He said calmly. He then looked up and met Sakura's gaze, winking at her and giving her a stunning grin, which broke the cool persona he had pulled off before. But she didn't care, and she could not help but smile at him.

Sasuke and the other male dislodged their legs from Lee's grip. The former scoffed and stuck his hands in his pockets, still trying to contemplate how the odd man in the green spandex suit was able to stop his attack. The two guards that were in front of the door then disappeared.

The girl with the buns ran up to Lee and hit him slightly on the head. "What happened to keeping a low profile?" She gritted through her teeth. Lee rubbed the back of his head and grinned.

"I cannot stand by and watch a fight that is not supposed to happen, especially because we have somewhere to be." He said.

"Hey, you." Someone yelled from behind Lee, coming up towards them. Sakura immediately registered the voice as Neji's. He looked directly at Sasuke, narrowing his gaze at him. "What's your name?" He asked gruffly.

Naruto gave an agitated twitch, irritated that people always acknowledge Sasuke above him. A vein popped on his head as he viewed their interaction, and Sakura could do nothing but shake her head and put her hand on Naruto's shoulder. Sakura was quite relieved that Neji did not confront her directly, but it hit her that almost everyone just brushed passed her instead of facing her directly. She did not know if it was because of her disarming appearance or what, but she was starting to get a little peeved at this.

She felt a slight nudge on her shoulder that took her out of her thoughts. She turned towards the person beside her to see Lee motioning his head in another direction, tacitly asking her to follow him. Sakura nodded and slowly eased her hand off of Naruto's shoulder. Fortunately, he was too preoccupied in his own jealousy to really care.

She followed Lee down the hall a little bit and turned a corner into a vacant hallway. Lee still had a smile on his face, but he looked a little troubled.

"Is something wrong, Lee?" Sakura asked nervously. She really hoped that he was not going to be a bearer of bad news because her nerves about the exam were already causing her to go crazy.

"I just wanted to tell you something, Sakura-chan." He said, placing his bandaged hands on both of her shoulders. Surprisingly, she did not feel uncomfortable in the slightest, and just focused on her teacher's circular eyes, fully attentive. "There may be a case where we have to go up against each other. In the event that this happens, I want you to come at me with whatever you have." He said determinedly.

Sakura froze a little bit. She had not thought about what the Chūnin Exams implied. Everybody was fighting against everybody for that spot, so it would not be unrealistic to say that she and Lee might have to fight each other. Sakura just nodded slowly at his words.

"Do not look so upset." Lee stated as he squeezed her shoulders soothingly, making her look up at him. "If there ever comes a time where you are in trouble, and it is not a situation where I am required to fight you, I promise to protect you with my life." He said.

Sakura's eyes widened before she shook her head. "Don't say that, Lee! I don't think anything will be that serious, but please don't put yourself in harm's way for me. You have your own future to take care of. I couldn't take that from you…" Sakura said as she trailed off, although she was very touched that Lee would make such an offer. The melancholy smile on Lee's face made her wrap her arms around him in a frantic hug. She knew that the situation was not as dire as she had made it out to be, but Lee was always her emotional support. She didn't know what she would do if she had to fight one of the only sources of courage that she had.

The hug they shared was completely platonic, and neither of them meant anything by it. However, a couple bystanders did not take it that way.

Especially a _very_ loud blonde who seemed to be hurdling towards them.

"Someone's attacking Sakura-chan!" He screamed when he saw them at the end of the hall. He couldn't believe he just let slip under his fingers like that without noticing. When he turned the corner and saw that the guy with the bushy eyebrows and weird spandex suit had his arms around her, his mind immediately turned for the worst.

Sakura and Lee were forcefully broken out of their hug when Naruto grabbed Sakura and jumped back, landing about five meters away from Lee, where he pushed her behind him. Lee raised one of his overly-bushy eyebrows at him and Sakura just smacked her forehead in pure embarrassment.

"Naruto…" Sakura gritted in agitation, raising her fist. Of course, since his back was to her, he did not see her.

"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO RAPE SAKURA-CHAN RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE! I'LL TAKE YOU ON RIGHT HERE, BELIEVE IT!" Naruto yelled as he charged at Lee. Lee just sighed and got into his own defensive stance, ready to take on his attack.

However, before Naruto could reach Lee, Sakura gathered her chakra in her feet, much like Kakashi had taught her to, and began to run forward. At the last moment, she took a large chakra leap and landed right in between Naruto and Lee with a loud thud. Lucky for her, Lee was not about to attack, otherwise she would not have been able to block his impact; however, she was fast enough to stop Naruto's punch to Lee's face.

Naruto looked at her with bewildered eyes, surprised to see that she made it in front of him so fast. Sakura was panting a little bit, and her hold on his fist was weak. She immediately let go of him to show him that she meant no harm to him.

"Please Naruto, Lee is my friend." Sakura tried to explain. Behind her, Lee visibly relaxed as tears clouded his vision at how much his "youthful blossom" had grown.

"W-wow, Sakura-chan…how did you get so fast?" He asked her.

Sakura just sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "I'm not really that fast…it's more about the chakra I put into my jumps." She explained. Naruto nodded as he tried to understand the situation, but gave up after he failed miserably.

"But then…who's this guy?" He asked, pointing behind her at Lee.

Before she had a chance to respond, Lee stepped out and addressed her. "Is this one of your teammates, Sakura-chan?" Lee asked. Sakura nodded.

"Mhm. Lee, this is Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto, this is Rock Lee…my teacher." Sakura said, trailing off a bit on the last part.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Wha!? What do you mean by teacher, Sakura-chan?" Naruto exclaimed, waving his arms around comically.

"Well, I've been training with Lee every morning for the past few weeks now, trying to hone my skills. I don't think I would have made as much progress as I did without his help." Sakura explained, giving Lee a grateful smile.

"Hn. So you're the reason Sakura's been showing up to practice exhausted." Another voice piped in. The three of them turned to find Sasuke coming towards them with Neji a few paces behind him. They had probably just ended their dispute to find out where the rest of their team had gone off to.

Naruto then turned on Lee. "Oh yeah! Sakura-chan's been showing up to practice all battered. Is that your fault?" Naruto pressed. Lee had a troubled look on his face as he opened his mouth to respond. However, Sakura interrupted him.

"That was of my own accord, Naruto. Lee worked me as hard as I could handle to become stronger, and I was willing to take up the challenge. This is no one's fault." She said as she tried to reconcile everyone.

Naruto pouted as he looked at her with pitiful puppy-dog eyes. "Why didn't you come to me for training, Sakura-chan? I would have been more than happy, and I probably would have done a better job than Bushy Brows over here." He said, jutting his thumb towards Lee. Lee barely seemed to take any offense at this.

"What would you have to teach her?" Sasuke mocked him, rolling his eyes.

"I have plenty I could have taught her, such as my sexy…" Naruto was promptly cut off by a smack on the head by Sakura.

"Why the heck would I want to learn that?" She scolded him. Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly.

"If you would all stop your squabble, I want to remind you that the written exams are about to start." Neji said with a twitching eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, we better get there! Let's go team!" Naruto said as he pumped his fist in the air and ran around the corner towards the staircase moving up to the third floor.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted as he stuck his hands in his pockets and made his way after him. Before he turned the corner, he looked at both Lee and Neji. "I'll fight you two some other day." Sasuke said, more like a promise than a threat.

Lee nodded with approval. "You have some youthful teammates, Sakura-chan. I can't wait to see what kinds of skills they will display in the exam." Lee said. Sakura smiled.

"They'll surprise you, I'm sure of it." She replied.

"Well, enough of that. We don't want to be late." The brown-haired girl said as she grabbed Lee's arm and started dragging him towards the stairs. "Sakura, right?" She called over her shoulder. It took Sakura a moment to realize that she was referring to her.

"Oh, yeah!" She called back.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Tenten. I hope to see you later in the exams." She said as she waved a little.

Sakura got one wave in before she disappeared behind the corner, leaving Sakura and Neji there alone. Sakura decided to steel her courage and walk past him, even though she could not help but lower her head as she did.

"It seems that you didn't take my advice." He said as she stood right next to him, however facing the opposite direction. "You know you will only put yourself in danger by taking a path that is not part of your destiny." He said firmly.

Sakura scoffed as she peered at him from her peripheral vision. "I told you before and I'll tell you again, destiny has nothing to do with this. The only person who decides my destiny is me." She said as she made her way passed him.

Neji waited a few moments before continuing after her, not wanting another confrontation. He hoped that she would see the error in her ways before it was too late, since fate was impatient and did not wait for others to realize their faults. It is not that he actually cared about her, but it irked him when people did not follow a destiny that was so clearly laid out before them.

He convinced himself that it was the only reason why he was so persistent about getting her to give up.

* * *

Sakura ascended the stairs cautiously, still a little fired up after her encounter with Neji. She could not believe he thought so lowly of her that he thought she would just give up after just a day. She would show him. She would prove that the underdog would come out victorious.

When she finally reached the third floor, she saw Sasuke and Naruto talking to Kakashi, who had his arms crossed. She could not decipher the look he had on his face, since the side that was facing her had his whole body covered.

When Kakashi noticed her approach, he turned to face her and his eye crinkled with his smile. Sasuke and Naruto both looked at her too, with Naruto waving her over ecstatically and Sasuke giving her a curt nod of his head.

As Sakura approached them, the nerves that had built up over the day started to wash away. She was okay. She would be with her team, and she would look after them just as much as they would look after her. Sakura's fists clenched at her sides as she tried to relieve the tension in her arms.

Her chance had arrived. It was time for her to show what she had learned. The Chūnin Exams were about to commence.

 **Please Read : Hi guys! So I got a lot of mixed comments about the pairing for this story, and I'm fine with that, and I'm glad you guys shared your opinions with me. I just wanted to let you know that the pairing is only going to be on the side and will not be the main focus of the story.**

 **Also, a lot of you guys suggested ShikaSaku for the pairing. I did not choose it for two reasons. 1. I think that NejiSaku just works better in this case, and 2. If you read** ** _Strength Within Myself_** **by Sakucherryblossoms (Who is a genius. I really recommend her work), you will see that if I took some of your suggestions, which I truly appreciate, y story would have too many parallels to hers.  
**

 **My apologies if I have upset anyone with how the story is going, but I think that it is going just the way I want it to. I completely respect everyone's opinion and if this story is not really your cup of tea, then I truly understand.**

 **Anyways, I hope that everyone is having a fantastic day wherever they are! See you guys next time!**


	8. Self-Conviction

**All rights to Naruto belong to Hiro Mashima.**

The three members of Team Seven stood in front of their teacher, who stared down at them with an intensity that was not meant to intimidate, but warn. The older male glanced at each of his students. In the time he had known them, he began to draw connections between his old team and his new one. They each resembled a person that he held dear, who all lost their lives at the end. It pained him to know that it was not impossible for the same thing to happen to this team. However, looking at them now, he knew that he could not think about that. All that mattered was their success, and he was sure that each of them had the ability to achieve it.

"I'm happy you all decided to participate. This would not have been possible if the three of you didn't cooperate." Kakashi said.

"Huh? What do you mean by that, sensei?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. Sasuke had an inquisitive look on his face as well, while Sakura remained silent.

"The Chūnin Exams require a three-man squad to participate. If one of you decided to not come, I would not have been able to let you pass." He explained. Naruto's eyes widened before he started to grin widely. Sasuke, however, immediately recalled an incident from before.

 _"_ _I would be more than happy to participate. I promise, I won't let my team down."_

He glanced towards Sakura, whose eyes were still focused on their sensei. He now knew what she meant by not letting her team down. He inwardly smirked in approval, thankful for her convenient change of behavior.

"Let me tell you all that the Chūnin Exams are nothing to take lightly. There are people who have died in these exams. Will you still take the risk knowing this?" Kakashi asked.

"Ha! Like hell I'm gonna die in this! I'm gonna be the next Hokage, and no puny test is going to strip that away from me!" Naruto said confidently as he crossed his arms with pride. However, Kakashi could see the slight tremor in his legs. Despite this, he wore his façade well.

Kakashi turned his attention back to the others. "And you two?" He inquired.

Sasuke nodded with determination, the conviction in his eyes speaking for itself. Sakura glanced at his reaction and made herself take a deep breath. A lot was riding for her on this exam. She couldn't afford to cower away any longer. With that set in mind, she nodded her head as well, clutching both of her hands behind her back so tightly that she knuckles turned white.

Kakashi nodded approvingly. "I know you three will do well. The only piece of advice I can give you s to work as a unit, instead of individually. You have to play off each other's strengths and make up for each other's weaknesses in order to survive this exam.

"Sasuke, your resourcefulness and sharp reflexes will be an asset to the team. Just remember to always watch the backs of others as well as your own." Sasuke stiffened a bit at that. He was really only used to looking after himself, but he knew that he should take Kakashi's words to heart. However, he did not make a move to respond.

"Naruto, you are the team's raw strength and driving force. While you may lack in many areas," this earned a cry of indignation from the said boy, "you possess the spirit that will keep the team motivated. Just remember to not lose track of the tasks at hand and to not let your feelings overwhelm you." He said. Naruto scratched his nose and grinned.

"Sure thing! Piece of cake!" Kakashi just rolled his eyes, knowing that his warning fell on deaf ears.

"Sakura," he said finally. Sakura had been awaiting nervously for what he was about to say to her, and her time had come, "you have shown immense growth over these past few weeks, not only physically, but mentally. You possess an intellect that will be able to get you out of tough situations. My warning for you, though," He said, leaning down so he could look her straight in the eye, "don't feel that you have anything to prove to anyone, because that will only result in unwanted pressure. Remember to keep a cool head and put your faith in your teammates." He finished straightening himself up. "Got it, you three?" He finalized. The three of them nodded. "Well then," Kakashi said, stepping to the side so they could walk passed him, "best of luck." He said before he disappeared in a flash, leaving the three of them in the hallway alone, staring at the door to the first exam.

"Are you boys ready?" Sakura asked, steeling her courage for what was about to come.

"Believe it!" Naruto said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Hn. Of course." Sasuke said with a smirk on his face. Sakura glanced quickly at both of them and smiled.

"Alright, then let's go!" She said.

She wouldn't let her chance pass up.

* * *

Once they entered the examination hall, the bravado Sakura had displayed had immediately been sapped.

Surrounding them were only a few known faces among a crowd of unfamiliar ones. Many of the Genin in the hall were older than they were, and they had probably failed the Chūnin Exams in prior years and had to retake it. There were shinobi from all over that came: Sand, Grass, Waterfall, Sound, and many others. Sakura felt her nerves chill at the sight of some of them. She definitely did not want to meet them in battle.

She saw the siblings from the Sand sitting off to her right. The redhead had his head down in deep concentration, although his face was contorted with irritation. The two around him were occasionally glancing at him in caution, as if he was a volcano that was about to erupt at any moment and they did not want to be caught in the crossfire. Lee was in a seat somewhere in the middle, who waved at her enthusiastically right when she entered. Tenten, who was beside him, smacked her forehead before she forced him down and told him to be quiet.

Her eyes then landed on the brown-haired Hyuuga sitting in the very front row. His back was to her, so she could not judge what he was feeling, but by the way his shoulders were not stiff, yet not languid, she could deduce that he was calm, but alert.

Her eyes narrowed at him. He was the one who she wanted to prove her strength to. She clenched her fists as her blood boiled, ready to make him eat his words.

 _"_ _Don't feel that you have anything to prove to anyone…"_ Kakashi's words echoed in her head. She immediately released her fists. She knew he was right, and that the only person she had to prove anything to was herself. She had to prove to herself that she really did change, even if it was only a short amount of time. She had to prove that she was a capable kunoichi of Konoha and that she was willing to protect this village at all costs.

Suddenly, a very high-pitched squeal interrupted her inner pep talk. "Sasuke-kun!" A blonde cried as she latched on to her teammate, the force making him tumble a little bit.

Ino Yamanaka was definitely one of the most beautiful girls in the academy, even in her adolescent years. Much of Sakura's self-consciousness came from comparing herself to the blonde, who was also fighting for Sasuke's affections. Now that Sakura began to see Sasuke through unbiased lenses, she started to see how childish she acted. She internally cursed herself for it when she saw the irritated look on Sasuke's face.

"I'm so happy you're participating too! I know you'll make it to Chūnin without a problem!" She said as she started to nuzzle her cheek into his shoulder. A shiver ran up Sasuke's spine as he forcefully tried to pry her off. Naruto silently cackled, happy for once that he didn't get that kind of attention.

"Get off of me." Sasuke grumbled as he nudged her aside. He sent her back a little bit, but she still smiled despite his unfriendly tendencies. Her head then turned towards Sakura as she smirked at her. Sakura felt a vein pop on her forehead as a familiar competitive wave flowed through her veins.

"I can't say the same for you, Forehead. Just try not to make Sasuke-kun fail the exam, because you're obviously not going to make it." She mocked. She then moved a bit closer to Sasuke. "It must be so _hard_ to have to deal with two dead-lasts on your team, Sasuke-kun. How valiant you are to try to take care of them." She cooed. Sasuke backed away in disgust, but she continued. " _I'm_ the only one who's going to continue to Chūnin with Sasuke-kun, so you should just give up Forehead-girl."

Sakura wanted to yell to back off of Sasuke, like she would have before, but she stopped herself. She knew that her old habits were still there, and she still had feelings for the brooding Uchiha, even if it was on a much lesser degree. She looked at Ino, who was waiting for her to say something back, and knew that she could not let herself devolve back into the fangirl she once was.

"I'm not just going to drop everything because you said to, Pig. I promised both Naruto and Sasuke that I wouldn't let them down," she said, nudging Naruto a bit with her shoulder and nodding at Sasuke, "and I intend to keep that promise. So why don't you just sit down and stop making a bloody scene." Sakura retorted calmly. Naruto smirked in Ino's direction as he held up his fist to Sakura, and much to Ino and everyone's surprise, Sakura bumped it back with the same kind of exuberance.

Ino's eyes widened at her response. Not only did she drop the honorific off of Sasuke's name, but she had also acknowledged _both_ Sasuke and Naruto, and not as her love interests, but as her comrades. Ino was not able to break out of her shock quick enough before the lazy genius himself began dragging her away.

"Honestly, you troublesome woman. You're drawing attention to us." He muttered languidly as he pulled her towards her seat, her eyes still wide with confusion and shock.

"That was awesome, Sakura-chan! You showed her!" He exclaimed. Sakura ruffled his hair fondly. She knew that she should have probably tried to reconcile her relationship with Ino, but old habits die hard, and it probably would have been too much of a shock to Ino if she started to act nice. She decided it was best if she rebuilt her relationship in baby steps.

"Thanks, Naruto." She said. Sasuke walked passed them and towards an empty desk. However, before he got there, he stopped in his tracks.

"Sakura," he said, making both Sakura and Naruto look at him. "thank you." He said quickly, almost inaudibly. Sakura's eyes widened at first before a grin stretched across her face. She didn't respond with anything but a nod, knowing that Sasuke wanted to erase any memory of him saying that. Naruto grinned slyly, knowing that he had something to tease him about after the exam was over.

Sakura and Naruto broke away from each other to take their seats. Sakura could feel some people's eyes on her. Whether it was out of curiosity from the spectacle they had displayed or of mockery because of her features, it didn't really matter to her. Of course, it still bothered her that others were staring at her, but she could not let her self-conscious tendencies shrink her into a ball. She had to be brave and keep calm. She had to pretend that they just weren't there.

She saw a small card lying on the edge of the desk. Picking it up, she saw a number on it. She looked over to see if the person next to her had a consecutive number. However, her seat neighbor's number was a ways away from hers, and she could not detect any sort of pattern. She could tell that other people had also started to wonder about the significance of the cards as they picked them up and examined all aspects of it.

Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared in the front, making almost every one of the Genin jump out of their seats. Standing at the front of the room was a tall, burly man with a large scar running across his face. A bandana was tied on top of his head and his Hitai-ate laid on top of that. He had one of the most menacing frowns that she had ever seen, and his narrowed eyes glanced over the room, his expression transforming into one of discontent.

"So this is the group they sent us this year, eh? Looks pretty pitiful if you ask me." His gruff voice spoke. Some people looked like they were about to protest the insult, but they immediately backed down. "Let me tell you this now. This test ain't for the faint-hearted. By taking this test, you acknowledge that you might die in the process. Anyone who was not aware of this and doesn't accept it, feel free to leave now." Either everyone did know about that or they were just too scared to be labeled as a coward. "No? How disappointing that we have to weed you out later." He said.

 _Man, this guy is rough._ Sakura thought. She felt Inner nod within her, her arms crossed with a serious expression.

 ** _Just keep a cool head. We've got this!_** Inner encouraged. Sakura just hoped she was right.

"I see you all have noticed the numbers on your desks. This is a method to prevent cheating. Arrange yourselves by seat number." He ordered.

They did as they were told with little difficulty. In her new seat, she looked around to see that nobody she knew was close to her. She saw Naruto a few rows in front of her and Sasuke was on the other side of the room. She looked back at Naruto and saw that he was next to Hinata, who she knew had some sort of familial relationship to Neji. She liked Hinata, and she thought her little not-so-secret crush on Naruto was adorable. She wondered how she would fare when sitting next to him for the entire test. She hoped that the poor girl would not faint from his presence.

Once they had finished, their proctor started again. "Now that that's settled, I welcome you to the first part of the Chūnin Exams. My name is Morino Ibiki, and I will be your proctor for the written exam." He said. His last name clicked somewhere in Sakura's mind. She once heard his name mentioned when she was at Ino's house many years ago, since he worked in the same division as Ino's father. He was known to be a ruthless man who had no sympathy for others. She wondered what he was doing proctoring some kids on their exam.

He explained the main rules of the exam, blatantly stressing the fact that cheating was absolutely not permissible. The Jōnin around the room would vouch for that with how vigilantly they observed them.

"Alright, I'm only going to say this once, so listen up." Ibiki said, picking up one of the chalk pieces and writing on the board, his back to the students. "The exam is based on a point-reduction system. You will each start with ten points. Getting a question wrong on the test is a deduction of one point. Any indication of cheating, which will be judged by the Jōnin surrounding the room, will be a deduction of two points. The second rule: the test is cumulative. You will pass or fail based on the total score of all three members of your team."

Sakura tensed at that. She didn't want to doubt Naruto, but she knew he cracked under pressure when it came to these kinds of things. She could already see him shaking from the thought of the written test, but on top of that, he also had to carry part of the team along with that pressure. She wished that there was something she could do to calm him, and it looked like Hinata next to him was trying to find a way to do the same.

"Another thing, if any team member gets a zero on the test, the whole team fails." She could see Sasuke rub his forehead with an agonized expression. Sakura took a deep breath to try to calm her nerves.

 _Naruto can do this, right? He may be a knucklehead, but he'll pull through._ Sakura tried to reassure herself.

 ** _I wouldn't be so optimistic, girly. Naruto's great and all, but you know he can be a bit of a dunce._** Inner said truthfully.

 _Shut up, Inner. You're not helping anyone._ Sakura thought, slapping her face a little bit to get Inner out of her head so she could focus. One of the Genin from Iwa beside her looked at her strangely.

Finally, Ibiki reached his final rule.

"The test given to you will only have nine questions. The tenth question will be revealed to you fifteen minutes before the exam is over. More will be revealed about this question later." He looked to the Jōnin surrounding him. "Please pass out the test papers. You may begin once you receive yours." He finished.

Sakura was one of the last to receive the paper. She took it greedily and immediately started working on the first one, not bothering to read over all of them. The first one required them to decipher a code, which should not have been too difficult because she had read many books on it. However, what she was doing was the real thing, and the cryptogram looked so much harder than anything she had done prior.

She looked up again to see Naruto's shaking become more violent. She clenched her teeth as she tried to think of a way to ease his nerves. She glanced over at Sasuke, who had a deeply concentrated expression as he was reading over one of the problems. Sakura then turned her eyes to her own paper, knowing that she couldn't be worrying about her teammates at the moment if she could not even get the questions herself.

Sakura spent so much time deciphering the code that before she knew it, ten minutes had gone by when she had finally finished the question. After she got the hang of it, it was not extremely hard. However, explaining how she got her answer was tricky. She couldn't just write that she read a lot and had seen some of the symbols before.

Before she could read the second question, she heard a slight squeaking noise from above. Sakura looked up to see a mirror hanging above her, which was moving around slightly. She then saw that it was attached to an almost-transparent wire cable, which meant that someone was adjusting its position. For a sliver of a moment, she was able to see the person controlling the wires through the mirror. It was the brown-haired girl with the buns that she had met earlier: Tenten. She was reflecting her test to someone else, and by the way they were positioned in the room, the person had to be Lee.

 _I can't believe it! They're cheating! They might get caught!_ Sakura thought frantically, unnerved by the fact that her mentor might get a point deduction.

 ** _Think about it, idiot. Why would they only give a point deduction for cheating? It's obviously grounds for expulsion from the test._** Sakura did not answer, waiting for Inner to continue. **_These guys are expecting you to cheat in the most furtive way possible, just as if you were to gather information on a real mission._**

That made a lot of sense to Sakura. She glanced at Sasuke once more, and by the slight smile on his face, she took it that he realized the same thing.

Most of the questions were too hard for her to answer, and she had absolutely no idea how she was going to get through the test without cheating. However, looking closely, she saw that many of the other Genin were collecting information using some type of jutsu. She had nothing in her arsenal that could do something like that, so she was at a loss.

Sakura decided that she just had to focus and move on, since she had already wasted fifteen minutes of her time and had not even answered more than the first question. Most of the other questions looked heavily math and theory based, which she was quite unfamiliar with. She only got average test scores on those subjects in the academy, at best. Sakura took a calming breath as she tried to figure out what to do.

 ** _Outer, incoming!_** Inner yelled from within her. Sakura had little time to question her outburst before she felt a wave of chakra infiltrate her system. Sakura struggled to keep herself conscious as she felt another force take over her body. Her mind shrunk her into a ball and locked her inside of a dark room. Sakura could not see anything, but she knew what had happened. The Pig had infiltrated her.

 _Inner, my conscious self is locked somewhere. You have to force Ino out for me._ Sakura called to the second consciousness in her mind.

 ** _I'll try._** ** _I'm not going to let this Pig overtake us just because she has some fancy jutsu_**. Inner's growls back before going silent. Sakura waited in the darkness, quiet and unmoving. She knew that it was impossible to try to get out of her predicament, since it was near impossible to break out of the cage the Yamanaka clan jutsu put on someone. However, a part of herself was still outside of the room, and could fight Ino's consciousness for her.

Years of living with another conscience in her head paid off.

 ** _She's resisting too much. I don't know if I can force her out._** Sakura heard Inner grit inside her head. Sakura bit her lip, knowing that time was almost up and that she had only answered one question. She thought about how Ino could just wait inside her for the whole time until the last minute when she transferred back and completed her paper, while Sakura had no time left. She could not let that happen. Not after everything she had done to get her to where she was.

But Ino's jutsu was almost infallible, and there were only a select few that were able to break out of it. What could someone as weak as her do in a situation like that?

 _Everything is just so unfair._ Sakura said as she held her head in her arms and closed herself tighter into a ball.

 ** _Stop it, Outer._** She heard Inner's voice call out to her. Sakura's eyes were opened, but she saw nothing but black. **_You're reverting back to your old self again. Are you just going to give up?_**

Sakura froze for a moment, unsure of what to say. _But…what can I even do? There's nothing I know of that can break her jutsu._ Sakura thought.

She could practically hear Inner scowl. **_And you're going to stop trying because of that? Think about Naruto and Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei. How would they feel if you gave up?_** Sakura did not answer, but Inner already knew what she wanted to say. **_That's right. They don't want to see you lose hope, so get your ass up and do something about this._**

Sakura unraveled herself from her cocoon and hugged her knees. Images of Naruto and Sasuke flashed across her eyes, distracting her from the darkness of the surroundings. She thought about how Sasuke still had a goal to accomplish. She thought about how Naruto aspired to be Hokage.

She thought about how she promised them that she would stay by their side through thick and thin.

 _You're right! I can't let this get me down!_ Sakura thought as she stood up.

 ** _Heh, finally! We've wasted a ton of time, you know._** Inner clicked her tongue. **_Listen, I've already frightened her enough by my presence, and she has no idea that you have two voices inside your head. She's unfocused and her chakra is unstable. You need to try to force her out._**

Sakura did just as she was told. She was not exactly sure how she was going to accomplish her feat, but trying to do something was better than not doing anything. Sakura concentrated on all of the chakra within her, trying to gain her control back. When she finally linked herself with her chakra core, she knew that she only had her mind left to worry about. She then drew all of the chakra out of her limbs, immobilizing them, and sent it towards her mind with her teammates in her thoughts.

Ino, still a bit shaken up by the fact that a very violent version of Sakura seemed to have broken through the mental cage she put around her, tried to focus on memorizing the answer Sakura put down for the first questions and the equation she had set up for the second. However, before she could, she felt a disturbing presence looming below her. Before she could react, a surge of chakra overtook her, practically burning her insides.

It was then that Ino saw Sakura again. She knew there was something different about her, especially because she had the word 'Inner' tattooed on her forehead. This 'Inner Sakura' smirked at her state, happy that she was losing control over her body.

 ** _"_** ** _Time for you to go back to your own body, Piggy."_** Inner Sakura taunted before she ran up and kicked Ino in the stomach, sending her mind away and breaking the connection between her and her outer self. Inner Sakura smiled proudly as she dusted her hands off with a tinge of cockiness.

Immediately, Sakura woke up to the real world. She had to squeeze her eyes shut since the light of the room held a direct contrast to the dark room she was in before.

"Number 57, stop moving around!" She heard one of the proctors yell. Sakura inconspicuously turned around to see Ino, her head down at being called out. She did not dare look at Sakura, but Sakura could tell that her eyes were wide with disbelief.

 _I…I can't believe I did it._ Sakura said as she breathed an internal sigh of relief.

 ** _Don't be so quick to relax, dammit! Look at the situation you're in! You have five minutes until they give out the last question!_** Inner mentally scolded. Sakura winced a little bit and started to panic, knowing that there was absolutely no way she would ever make it passed even the third question. She just consented to doing the best she could to finish the second one and hopefully score those two points for her team.

Before she knew it, the five minutes of grace that she had had expired, just as she was in the middle of her equation. In the end, she just ended up putting down some random answer that looked like it would have been correct.

"Everyone stop writing!" Ibiki's strong voice echoed through the room. "It's time to reveal the last question." He said darkly, narrowing his eyes at the students before him. "But before that, there are some things I must mention to you."

His next statement shocked everyone in the room. He said that they were given a choice whether to answer the tenth question, but then the whole team would fail if they chose not to. This was met with a violent wave of murmurs, discussing why anyone would choose to do that.

"Hang on, I didn't finish." Ibiki said, cutting through all of the conversations. "If you _do_ choose to answer the tenth question and you get it wrong, then your whole team is banned from taking the Chūnin Exams ever again." He said.

Sakura's eyes widened at this. She opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was something between a chocking sound and a croak. Sakura ran her tongue over her cracked lips, trying to hydrate them again as she thought of the best course of action for her and her team. If they chose to give up, then they could always take the exam the next year, but that would set back everyone on her team.

Naruto needed to become Hokage.

Sasuke needed to defeat that someone he's always been meaning to.

Sakura needed to prove that she was not dead weight.

Ibiki then asked for the people who were giving up to raise their hands, and a total of twenty-nine teams decided that it was better the be safe than sorry. Sakura watched as all of them, including both of her seatmates, got up and left the hall with their heads hanging in shame. She looked around to see that there was less than half of the people who were there before, and even more were starting to contemplate leaving.

Sakura bit her lip and looked towards both Naruto and Sasuke for help on what to do, but neither looked at her. She first glanced at Sasuke. His eyes were closed and his chin was resting on his propped-up hands. If she looked closely, she could see how clenched his fists were and how they were almost white as a result. It was obvious that he did not know what to do either.

Her gaze then shifted towards her blonde teammate in front of her. His head was down, much like those who had left the hall after giving up. Seeing him made her heart clench and she struggled to breathe. She thought about his future and how much it meant to him, but she also knew that he would be too stubborn to raise his hand.

Sakura clenched her fist underneath her desk. Should she make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that Naruto got to where he wanted to be? Was it right for her to give up so they could live to fight another day?

 _No._ She told herself as she shook her head. _I have faith in Naruto and Sasuke. If they aren't going to raise their hands, I'm not going to either. There's no doubt about it. The three of us are going to pass, and I won't give up until we do._ Sakura thought as a small smile pulled at her lips.

That smile dropped when she saw the hand that went up next. It was Naruto's. The bubbly boy who told everyone to "never give up, believe it!" was raising his hand. Sakura stared at him in shock, not expecting something like that from him. Her chest pained as the realization hit her that they would not be able to continue. They would never-

She broke out of her thoughts when the very hand in question slammed onto the desk. Sakura jumped a little bit in her seat and a tremor erupted down her spine at the sudden surprise. Sakura looked at Naruto, who was standing up at the moment.

"Like hell I'm going to give up! I'm going to become Hokage! And that bastard over there," he said as he pointed to Sasuke, making him give an irritated look at the yelling blonde, "he's going to go on some vengeful crap or something like that, and she," he said pointing at her from behind him, but his eyes never leaving the proctor, "she's going to be right next to us the entire way, and she's going to become the strongest kunoichi I know, believe it!" He said before he slammed his other hand on his desk as well. "And I'm not going to let some darn test ruin that for us. Ya hear me?" He yelled for emphasis.

Sakura stared at his back in disbelief, a little embarrassed that he had called her out and made such a scene, but also proud that he still had the motivation to continue. So when he turned, caught her eyes, and gave her a wink, she winked back.

 _What an idiot._ She thought as she shook her head with a smile on her face. He just yelled at the proctor. It would be a miracle if any of them passed.

However, the whole room started to feed off of Naruto's positivity. The desire to continue sparked in all of their minds and they solidified their positions in their seats. Sakura looked at the people who once looked as though they wanted to quit. They looked determined as ever, and Sakura was with them. They would face that tenth question straight on, no question and no complaint.

Ibiki looked at all of their faces, surprised that so many had decided to take the blonde loudmouth's words to heart. He internally smiled at the conviction he saw. Every one of them were willing to take the risk of failing for their position. He closed his eyes and nodded.

"It seems as though all of you have decided to take on the challenge." He said. The blonde boy who yelled at him took a seat, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes in concentration. They were all readying themselves for the final question. "Then congratulations all of you, you passed!" He said.

 _Huh?_ Sakura thought, her head tilting to her side in contemplation. It took a few moments for the words to register in her brain.

"WHAT!" She and everybody exclaimed.

In front of her, she saw Neji tense in the front row. His torso slowly turned and glanced behind him to see her still there, her eyes wide with disbelief. Sakura noticed his staring and looked back with equal intensity. Neji scoffed before he turned around again, shaking his head.

Sakura did not bother with him. She just looked at her proctor like he was insane. But then, a grin spread across her face, despite her anguish at the result.

 _We…we did it!_ Sakura mentally cheered.

Maybe there _wasn't_ really anything to be afraid of.

 **Hi guys! I really hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you to all of you who have made it this far and a** ** _special_** **thanks to all of you who'd reviewed. Just...thank you to everyone!**

 **As always, I hope that everyone is having a genuinely great day wherever they are. If you're going through something bad, because I can understand that right now, then I hope everything works out well for you. Thank you all so much for being such wonderful people. See you next time!**


	9. Comradery

**All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

They had a one day's rest before the second exam started. After getting over the shock that she had actually passed the first exam – though in a much unexpected way – Sakura had a mini-celebration with Naruto when they got out of the testing hall. Sasuke stood behind them silently, but an inconspicuous smile started to form on his face.

When they told Kakashi of their success, he looked aloof and said that they did well monotonously, but Sakura could see a certain relief and happiness in his eye that told her that he was truly glad that his "cute little genin" had passed.

Naruto and Sakura were getting ramen that night. She asked Kakashi and Sasuke to join them, much to Naruto's chagrin, but Kakashi denied and disappeared, while Sasuke said that he had better things to do than hang out with them. For the first time, his refusal did not immediately elicit a sad response from her. She even scowled at his negativism, angered that he still had that opinion of them even after all they had been through together.

Naruto had just gotten through his fifth bowl before slamming down and letting out a ginormous burp, making a few other people at the ramen stand cringe in disgust.

"Please, Naruto. We're in public." Sakura said as she rubbed her forehead.

"Sorry Sakura-chan..." Naruto said, but she could tell that he had only said that out of convention, and the grin on his face was all the proof that she needed. "Anyway, I need to stalk up on energy. It only gets harder from here!" Naruto said as he pumped his fist in the air.

Sakura sighed a little pessimistically as she finished off the last of the broth in her first bowl. She probably only did okay because it was a written test and it did not require any physical expenditure. She hoped the rest of the test would not be out of her capabilities.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Naruto asked, nudging her a little bit with his shoulder. Sakura nudged him back in a friendly way before sighing again, letting her shoulders slump.

"I'm just scared about the rest of the test. I completely froze up during the _written_ portion. I was putting so much stress on myself that my brain couldn't function. I looked over the test after Morino-sensei already said that we passed, and I noticed that I probably would have been able to answer a lot of the questions easier than I perceived. All the stress on me had caused me to not think straight." She said as she laid her forehead on the countertop. "If I freeze up during something like that, what will happen out in the battlefield?" She asked.

"Hey, I did the exact same thing, Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he patted her back. Sakura straightened herself and looked at her friend, a slight frown tugging at her lips.

"No offense, Naruto, but you're not very good at taking tests in general." She said, hoping that he wouldn't be hurt by her statement.

Instead, Naruto just shrugged good-naturedly. "Yeah, guess you're right about that. But you don't have to worry about it in an actual situation. For one, I know you'll think when the situation demands it, and secondly, the teme and I will be with you. You won't have to worry about anything if we're around." He said confidently.

"But that's just it. What if you aren't around, or you're both hurt? I don't want to lean on you guys for strength, but I know that if you two are injured in some way, I stand no chance."

"No, Sakura-chan. It's not that you're leaning on us, it's just that we work as a team. Even though Sasuke is too much of a bastard to admit it, we have your back just as you have ours." He said, swinging an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a side-hug. She wrapped an arm around his torso in an innocent gesture, returning that hug.

"Thanks Naruto. I never knew that you could be so insightful." She said as she ruffled his hair. Naruto huffed indignantly.

"Oh, young love." A voice said from behind them. Sakura and Naruto broke from their hug and turned around to see Kakashi entering the ramen stand. Sakura glared at him and shook her head, and then looked at Naruto to gauge his reaction. He scowled at his sensei, but then he turned his head towards her and wiggled his eyebrows jokingly. Sakura snorted and hit his shoulder. Ultimately, he started to laugh as well.

After recollecting her composure, Sakura turned back to Kakashi. "What are you doing here, sensei? I thought you had stuff to do." Sakura asked.

"Well I did, but I needed to drop by to tell you two something." Sakura and Naruto nodded, listening intently. "Sakura, I hope you can handle your own training or even find Sasuke and spar with him tomorrow. I'll be taking Naruto somewhere." Kakashi said as he put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Sakura's eyes widened, at first in shock, but then in delight for her friend.

Naruto looked absolutely ecstatic. "Cool! Where are we going? Am I going to learn a cool new jutsu? Or some high-level weapon techniques? Tell me!" He said boisterously, jumping up and down in his seat. The hand that was on his shoulder pushed him down, trying to stabilize him.

"Well, I can't tell you yet, but there are a few things that I want to show you before you take your second exam. Sakura and Sasuke already have some things to work on, and I suppose it is time that you learn a few helpful skills as well." Kakashi said. Naruto grinned widely, and Sakura mimicked his expression, happy that Naruto got some of the attention too. "Is that alright with you, Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

"Mhm, that's fine." Sakura hummed. "I have a training session with Lee in the morning, anyway. I'll probably get Sasuke and force him to train with me, also." Sakura said contently. She then turned to Naruto and held up her fist. "You better show me something really impressive when I see you next." She said teasingly.

Naruto grinned confidently as he met her fist with his own.

* * *

The next morning, Sakura ran down to the training field at promptly six in the morning. A smile stretched across her face at the thought of meeting her mentor, who she had not seen since the beginning of the first exam. She wanted to congratulate him on passing the first test, although she had no doubt that he would.

When she entered the training field, she was surprised to see not Lee, but Neji in the middle of the field. He was sitting down with his eyes closed in a meditative stance; his breathing was deep, yet steady. Sakura had half a mind to turn back and go the other way, thinking that Lee might be at some other part of the field. However, her feet propelled her forward, and before she knew it, she was standing only about a meter away from her tormentor. She could tell that he had sensed her, but he did not open his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, not caring if she broke his meditation. Neji sighed exasperatedly, expertly lifting himself off the ground without his hands. He huffed when he saw her. Sakura had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at his rudeness.

"Please remove any thought from your mind that might think that I am here for you. This is a public training field, so it is not just for your use." Neji said monotonously. If he did not have the emotional capacity of a rock, she would probably hear venom in his tone.

Sakura scowled at his implication of selfishness. "I know that. Lee and I just decided to meet here. I'm just wondering why you're here instead of him." Sakura asked, crossing her arms and staring deep into his pearl eyes.

Neji shrugged symmetrically. "I did not know that you were going to meet him this morning. I just happened to come at this time." Neji said as he began to walk away. "There is no point staying here if it will be rowdy. Good morning." He said with his back turned to her.

Sakura's words were stuck in her throat as she tried to think of something to say back to him. "Hey!" She called out to him. He stopped and turned around, and she immediately lost her courage to say anything to him. He raised his eyebrow and waited for her to continue. Sakura ran her tongue over her chapped lips and took a deep breath. "Good job." She mumbled.

"I'm sorry?" He asked politely, but she could hear his agitation at her soft words.

"Good job completing the first exam." She said louder, still not meeting his eyes. Both of Neji's eyebrows raised, not expecting her to congratulate him.

He chewed on his bottom lip and turned around. "I guess I have to say the same. Just remember what I said about fate. Your victory might have just been a stroke of good luck. If you truly want to continue, then you better be on your guard." He said as he started walking again.

"It wasn't a fluke! Fate has absolutely _nothing_ to do with this!" She yelled at him, but he did not turn around to endorse a conversation any longer. "Jackass. Thinks he knows everything, does he?" Sakura muttered to herself.

"Indeed, I believe he does think that." A voice said from behind her. She turned around immediately to come face-to-face with Lee, who had a bright smile on his face despite his flustered appearance. He looked like he had just run to the other side of the Land of Fire and back. In spite of this, he still sported his usual winsome smile.

Sakura's frown immediately turned into a smile, walking up to Lee and embracing him, sweatiness and all. Lee stood frozen for a split second before he returned the hug, patting his disciple's head. "We did it! We made it through the first round!" Sakura exclaimed in joy. She felt Lee nod.

"I am very proud of you. I knew you could do it." Lee said as he pulled out of the hug.

"Yeah, but that really didn't test anything that I learned from you. I suppose the rest of the test will be based around fighting." Sakura said.

"I believe so as well, so we better get to work." Lee replied, patting her on the shoulder and motioning her over to some tree stumps. Sakura followed without indignation.

* * *

By the end of the session, the tree stump that Sakura had been working on had been whittled down and a large gap surrounded by smaller holes remained as evidence of her effort. Because she was still not nearly as strong as Lee, she had to infuse her chakra into some of her moves to get a similar effect to Lee would, something that Kakashi had taught her while they trained together.

"Well done, Sakura-chan. I can already see that you are improving quickly. However," he said, looking at the stump that had multiple disorganized holes in it, "you might have to work a bit on your accuracy. You cannot blindly throw punches at an enemy that is moving." Lee said. Sakura scratched her head in embarrassment.

"Sorry about that." She said, rubbing her bruised fists. Lee dismissed her by a shake of his head. He then looked up towards the sky.

"I predict that it is around ten right now. I think that is enough for today." He said.

"Alright. Thank you for helping me again. I'm sorry if I'm taking time out of your training schedule." Sakura apologized.

Lee sighed. "There is no need to apologize. This _is_ a part of my training schedule." Lee replied, making Sakura grin. "Your Leaf Whirlwind has actually improved tenfold, Sakura-chan, and I am seeing lots of improvement in your speed has well. You've come a long way since you first started." Lee said truthfully.

Sakura looked down a bit, a small yet sad smile on her face. "Maybe, but I still have a long way to go if I want to be on par with Naruto and Sasuke." Her head then perked up. "But I won't give up. I'm so much closer to achieving my goal. And once that's done I can work on my second goal." Sakura said.

"Hm? What's that?" Lee asked. Sakura faked an offended expression.

"How could you have forgotten? I want to beat that asshole you consider a teammate." Sakura replied with her hands on her hips, her lips tugging into a smile.

Realization passed on Lee's face, and he in turn gave her one of his wide grins, his teeth shining in the morning sunlight. "Well then, Sakura-chan, as your mentor, I guess I will just have to beat him before you." Sakura laughed.

After that conversation, they wished each other luck in the next round and went their separate ways. Although Sakura felt tired and she was aware of the perspiration that lined her forehead, she did not feel particularly famished, which she considered a good thing in the case of a mission where they had to do a lot of moving around. Sakura placed her hands behind her back as she walked back to village; her eyes squinted shut to mend the dryness that plagued them. She stretched her arms out took a deep, refreshing breath of air, produced by the trees surrounding her.

Suddenly, she heard a slight whistling in the air, and she ungracefully rolled onto her side to avoid the kunai knife that had planted itself right in the position she had been in. She took in a shaky breath as she observed the projectile, as if it would turn into a venomous snake at any moment. She then quickly looked up into the trees to see where the weapon came from. Her question was immediately answered when she saw Sasuke on the top of a branch, his profile facing her. His face was aloof as he twirled another kunai around his right index finger.

Sakura stood up and dusted herself off. "What the heck, Sasuke? You could have killed me." Her voice was oddly calm, as if she was used to that kind of treatment. She guessed she was just finally adapting fully to the caution a shinobi must always present.

"If I wanted to do that, I would have taken into account your evasion." He said as he jumped down from the tree. He picked up his kunai without looking at her.

Sakura's eyes widened a little at what he insinuated. Had he expected her to have the capacity to dodge when she was in an inattentive state? She internally grinned at the implication of a compliment.

"You know, there are other ways to say hello than attacking people." Sakura said with her arms crossed and a mocking grin stretching across her face. Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes, placing his kunai in his pocket.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" He asked abruptly. Sakura wanted to audibly sigh because of his lack of responsiveness, but she just held it in.

"He went with Naruto to train somewhere. He said they'd be back by tomorrow." She replied. A scowl etched itself onto Sasuke's pale features. He then turned away from her and started to walk away.

"H-hey! Where are you going?" Sakura called as she chased after him. When she finally caught up with him, she was surprised to see that Sasuke did not speed up his pace. However, he refused to look in her direction or even acknowledge her. _This is why I should be over him by now._ Sakura chastised herself.

"To train." He answered simply.

"Kakashi-sensei said that it would be best if we trained toge…"

"I train alone." He replied as he kept walking. She struggled to keep up with him slightly because his strides were so long.

"But…"

"Go away. You're being annoying." He said, hoping that she would leave him alone after that. Instead, that just fueled Sakura's anger.

Sakura paused and grasped his forearm, forcefully turning him around to face her. He immediately wrenched his arm out of her grip, but did not turn to leave. Instead, he just glared at her.

"What is your problem? Whether you like it or not, I'm on your team, and teammates are supposed to help each other out. I don't care if you're some prodigy who thinks he has it made for him. The least you could do is be considerate to the people around you." Sakura scolded angrily.

"I don't need anyone else to help me."

"Oh, get your head out of your ass! Of course you do! Everyone needs help with something, and that's what friends are around to help each other out with! I'm working my butt off trying to mend my relationship with you, and you just cast it off like it's nothing. I don't give a damn about your approval or what you think, but I want us to be able to work together so one of us doesn't end up dying on the field because we couldn't trust each other. So stop being such a selfish jerk all the time, because quite honestly, you're not any more important than Naruto or I am." She said in just a few breaths. She took in deep pants to calm herself down, and the piercing glare that Sasuke was giving her was not making her feel any better.

Sasuke did not speak, and he did not even seem to be contemplating what she was saying. She waited for him to tell her that she was being delusional and annoying, like he always did. She decided to just walk away, her head down in shame at her temper.

"You're going to get yourself killed," she heard him start from behind her, "if you are not able to sense your enemy's chakra, like you weren't able to sense mine when I threw that kunai at you. It'll weigh the whole team down. Throwing some chakra-induced punches has no effect if you do not have a target." He said. Sakura turned around to face him.

"Then…will you teach me?" She asked him cautiously, wondering if he had just said that to insult her.

Sasuke paused for a moment. "Come on." He said indirectly as he started down his path again. Sakura ran to catch up with him.

"Hey Sasuke?" Sakura asked, remembering something he said.

"Hn?" He grunted.

"Were you spying on my training session with Lee?" Sakura asked with a grin.

Sasuke disappeared as he jumped, without a word, into the trees. Sakura giggled amusedly as she followed him.

* * *

Sakura stood in the middle of Training Ground Five and listened to her surroundings carefully. She was distinctly aware of the white blindfold covering her eyes; it blocked off the one sense she was always proud of having, with her perfect vision. She acutely tuned her ear to any sounds from around her, knowing that Sasuke was not far away and he was either waiting for an opportune moment to attack or for her to notice him.

Sakura did just as he told her to do: using her own chakra to link to someone else's. However, it was not as easy as Sasuke (almost condescendingly) told her it was. She might have had perfect chakra control through the body, but dispersing it outward was a completely different story.

It had been over an hour since she and Sasuke had started their training together: ten minutes were spent on him lecturing her about what she should feel when someone with a chakra signature was close and the remaining fifty were spent without her sense of sight. Throughout that whole time period, Sasuke had only went at her twice. The rest of the time was spent waiting for even a postulate of a sound that would insinuate his position.

The first two times he had assailed her, he had knocked her down without her even noticing. Before she knew it, her back had made contact with the ground and her breath was knocked out of her. The only sound she could hear over the beating of her heart was the voice of Sasuke telling her to get up and try again. Her patience was wearing quite thin. She would not let him touch her another time.

She focused her chakra towards the frame of her body, making her nerve cells hyper-aware. She then slowed her heart and breathing rate, waiting for the moment that Sasuke would come to her. He was waiting for her to let her guard down because of her impatience, but she would not give him that opportunity. She had to beat him at his own game; a lot more than just learning the technique was riding on her victory against him.

It was then that her chakra spiked with the presence of another. Even though it was just for a split millisecond, she knew that Sasuke was to her left side. Without thinking, she culminated her chakra into her fist and sent it in the direction that she felt her comrade in. She hoped that she would be able to punch him down, but he was much too fast for her. Instead, her fist met the solid ground, which cracked slightly under the force. She briefly saw a flash of navy blue before she ended up on her back again, staring at the sky with Sasuke's standing form hovering over her.

Sakura groaned and threw her forearm over her eyes to shield them from both the sun and the judgment in Sasuke's eyes. Although she did not care too much about his opinion of her anymore, she still found it embarrassing that she had been taken down thrice. She had not even made a mark on him.

"How did you do that?" Sasuke asked, making her remove her arm from her eyes. She sat up so that the sun would not blind her and looked up at Sasuke again.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. Sasuke said nothing and merely pointed to the spot where her fist had landed. Apparently, the crack she had made in the ground was much larger than she had originally thought. The dirt had caved in on one spot and the area around it was ruptured. It did not look as if a little girl's fist had done it, either. "Uh…I don't know." Sakura answered truthfully, not knowing anything else she could have said. "I guess it just…happened?" Her statement turned out to be more of a question.

"Did you use your chakra?" Sasuke asked as he knelt down so that she did not have to strain her neck. She was thankful for that, but not for the fact that she was even closer to his piercing glare.

"Y-Yeah. So?" Sakura stuttered as she tore her eyes away from his dark orbs. _I'm over him, I'm over him, I'm over him…_

"Tell me how to do that." He demanded of her. Sakura's eyes snapped back to him, and she could not help raising her eyebrow.

"Wow, your manners astound me." Sakura said sarcastically, earning a chilling glare from the boy in question. She heard him growl lowly, and knew that what she said probably was not the best thing she could have at the moment. Still, it gave her a sense of pride to know that she could easily cast off his disapproval.

"Sakura." He said threateningly, his eyes narrowing even further. Sakura simply sighed and stood up, dusting herself off. Sasuke followed her movements, his question still lingering.

Sakura then gave him a bright smile and stuck out her hand. "If you teach me how to master sensing chakra, I'll tell you a bit about chakra control. Does that sound fair?" She asked with a bubbly smile.

She waited for a few moments and watched as Sasuke's eyes traveled from her face to her hand. He looked reluctant to take it, as if it had been rigged with paper bombs. In the end, Sasuke took it robotically and gave it a curt shake in acknowledgment and then dropped it. The faint trace of comradery was enough for Sakura.

"Perhaps…" Sasuke started. Sakura looked up at him hopefully as he continued, "this won't be a complete waste of my time." Sasuke said. Sakura could do nothing more than roll her eyes.

 **Hi guys! Sorry for being gone for so long, but there were things I had to deal with that trumped the time I could work on my writing. Please leave a review to tell me what you thought, because all reviews are deeply appreciated.**

 **Also, I hope you guys like the pacing at which Sasuke and Sakura's relationship is, because I am trying to make it as realistic as possible. Of course, Sasuke is not going to do a one-eighty about Sakura because she has fawned over him for so long, but I feel that, at the end of the day, emotions are not things that can be changed easily, and that's what makes us human.**

 **Sorry for that little rant.**

 **Anyway, I hope that everyone is having a fantastic day wherever you are! See you guys next time!**


	10. Premonition

**All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

The morning was sunny, yet a bitter chill overtook the village of Konoha. The birds did not sing their usual greeting to the sun, and if they did, Sakura did not hear them. She just stared into the darkness of the gated forest before her, feeling her soul being pulled into the void. She felt an eerie presence around the location she was in, and she realized that any hopes she had about the rest of the exam going as smoothly as she wanted was just her fooling herself.

"Sakura." Sasuke said from beside her, snapping her out of her reverie. Her body gave a slight jolt at the sound of his voice, but she quickly calmed down and turned to him casually. His brow arched questioningly, as if implicitly asking what she was thinking about. However, to this, she gave no answer.

"What is it Sasuke?" She asked. Sasuke breathed a heavy sigh, but repeated his question.

"Do you know when the dobe and Kakashi are going to be back?" Sakura shook her head quickly in embarrassment, as if to make up for the time she stalled during her passive state. Sasuke nodded curtly and looked around at all the teams they had to face.

"Are you looking for someone, Sasuke?" Sakura asked. Sasuke shook his head slowly.

"I just have a bad feeling, as if something is snaking up the back of my neck." He cautiously rubbed the back of his head and slowly trailed down towards the side of his neck with his hand. Sakura shot him a worried glance and looked around furtively. Her eyes finally came upon what might be causing Sasuke's premonition.

"Sasuke…" Sakura said softly as she looked him in the eyes. "Don't look now, but four-eyes with a know-it-all look over there is staring at you." She told him. Sasuke did not turn around, but his eyes narrowed and moved to his peripheral vision, even though he could not get a glance. "Oh gosh, he's coming over." Sakura said as her eyes immediately shot towards the ground. This time, Sasuke turned his whole body around to face the coercer.

"No need to be on guard." The man said in a sickly smooth voice as he affixed his circular glasses upon his face. His eyes were the same shade of onyx as Sasuke's, but they held a devious tinge within them that sent a shiver up Sakura's spine. Luckily, he was not looking at her, but her nerves were screaming out of danger from his attention to Sasuke. "I have heard much about you, Sasuke Uchiha." He said with a slight smile, although it did not lighten the mood at all.

"And who might you be?" Sasuke asked with crossed arms and an aloof expression. The white-haired boy's smile widened in response, and he did not seem to feel the antagonistic aura that literally radiated off the Uchiha.

"My apologies for not introducing myself. I am Kabuto Yakushi. I, too, am from this village." He said as he pointed to the Konoha symbol engraved in the metal of his Hitai-ate. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said. His eyes then turned towards Sakura, and her immediate response was to jump back, but she kept her feet grounded. "And you are Sakura Haruno, from the civilian family. I must say, I am quite impressed to see someone who came from no shinobi background get this far."

Sakura felt uncomfortable by the way he described her family. She did not like her relations to be brought up, especially when it concerned the civilian sphere. Steeling her courage, Sakura stepped forward so that her elbow was touching Sasuke's. "How do you know that?" She asked, defensiveness evident in her tone. Sasuke's hands clenched his biceps.

"Oh, I am very knowledgeable about almost everyone here. Please do not take offense. I just wanted you to know that if there was anything you wanted to know about anyone here, I would be more than willing to help you." He said with a slight bow.

"What's the catch? The teams are competing against each other, and not everyone is going to make Chūnin, you know." Sasuke stated monotonously.

"Think of it as an alliance. I don't know if you've realized, but the outburst of your little blonde teammate has caused a lot of people to talk about you. In the shinobi world, that is never a good thing." He said matter-of-factly as he, once again, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

 ** _Damn, that guy needs to get those things tightened._** Inner commented smartly.

 _Can you leave me alone for a day? Please?_ Sakura implored. Inner stuck her tongue out at her Outer, and Sakura had to prevent herself from rolling her eyes on the outside.

"Hn," was Sasuke's short reply. Kabuto did not seem to want any more from him, so he turned his eyes towards her. Sakura's fists clenched and unclenched at her sides as they started to become moist with her own nervous sweat.

"U-um…we'll keep that in mind, then." Sakura said unsurely. This seemed to be enough for Kabuto.

"Thank you, I'll take my leave then." He said as he started to make his way back to his team. Before he did however, he turned around. "Oh, and Sasuke?" He asked. Sasuke looked at him blankly. "Don't stray too far." He said before he left them for good.

Sakura allowed another shiver to rivet through her spin, causing her thoughts to become tangled and distorted. She moved her gaze to Sasuke, who was glaring holes into Kabuto's back as if he would be able to start a fire with just a gaze.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked tentatively, trying to put a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke moved his shoulder out of the way, and Sakura quickly settled her hand at her side once more. Sasuke stole a glance at her and breathed a deep sigh. He then started to walk the other way, but not before he softly flicked the side of Sakura's head as he passed her. It was such a faint touch that she barely felt it, and she would have doubted that he'd done anything at all if she did not see him raise his hand.

"Let's find the idiot." He said pointedly as he began walking away from her. Sakura walked after him, but kept her distance. It seemed to her that Sasuke did not want to talk, and she did not see the need to be next to him constantly anymore.

It seemed that their search did not extend for long, due to the force that slammed into Sakura's side and tackled her to the ground. Sasuke turned around, releasing an exasperated sigh at the scene Sakura groaned at the heavy weight that pushed her into the ground, and for a second thought that she was hit by a boulder.

"Sakura-chan! Did you miss me?" The assailant asked with a face-splitting grin.

But alas, she was just hit by someone with the _head_ of a boulder.

"What the heck did you do that for?" Sakura said as she pushed him to the side. She sat up and pulled her knees into her chest, rubbing her lower legs that seemed to retain a few scratches from the impact.

"I missed you!" He replied as he swung an arm around her shoulder. She made no move shrug him off or move away. Instead, she gave him a weak punch to his stomach; one that made him laugh.

"You saw me, like, a day ago. You need to leave from the nest eventually." Sakura joked with a motherly tone. Naruto just rolled his eyes and sat up. He extended his hand towards Sakura for her to take, but before she could, he retracted it quickly and ran it through his hair. Sakura gawked at him and prepared to stand up herself and deal him a not-so-weak punch to the stomach.

"Stop playing around, you two." Sasuke said irritably as he made his way over to them. He grabbed Sakura's forearm and yanked her up, making her stumble a little. Once she caught her balance, Sasuke's hand no longer lingered on her arm. Sakura rubbed her arm, which stung a little from his vice grip.

"You two are abusive, you know that?" She muttered. Naruto grin only grew wider and Sasuke just replied with a scoff. Her attention turned directly to Naruto. "So Naruto, learn any Hokage-level techniques with Kakashi-sensei?" She asked. Sasuke looked over at him in curiosity, although it did not show on his face.

Naruto scratched his cheek. "Maybe not like that, but I'm sure it'll be super useful, believe it!" He replied. Sasuke scoffed.

"How much can you learn in a day, especially with your lack of brain power?" Sasuke inquired mockingly.

"Teme!" Naruto yelled as he charged at him. Sasuke was ready to receive him with a kick to his whiskered face. However, Sakura intercepted him and, this time, tackled him to the ground.

"Ugh, you two are embarrassing." She said as she got off of Naruto.

"That's my line." Sasuke said as he walked away from them.

Sakura just sighed at his retreating figure and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. She then extended her hand out to Naruto, who took it thankfully. However, as Sakura was pulling him up, she swept her leg underneath her and made Naruto land on his back once again. Sakura chuckled at his stupefied form when he first hit the ground. Naruto looked up in her in shock before his grin returned to his face.

"Sakura-chan! You're learning!" He cried out in glee. He stood up and gave Sakura a crushing side hug. Sakura just sighed and pat him lightly on the head.

"Only from having the best knuckle-head teacher." She replied.

* * *

"Listen up, you maggots!" A purple-haired woman with piercing wooded eyes ordered. She stood in front of a large metal gate with her hands on her hips, glaring at every single Genin in front of her as if she were disgusted by the sight of them, which she most likely was. "I'm you proctor for the second exam, Mitarashi Anko. If you don't remember it, that's your problem."

There was a certain fearful respect that Sakura felt resonate within her. Anko immediately called the attention of everyone with just one sentence, and Sakura could already tell that she was a powerful woman. Sakura wished that one day, she could do that. Maybe not with the fear aspect, but she wanted to be respected and listened to. She rechecked everything on her body to make sure she was not missing anything she packed for that day.

"Anyway, the rules for the second exam are easy." Anko started, reaching into her long beige coat and pulling out two scrolls. There seemed to be something written on them, but Sakura and her team were standing too far back to see it. "There are two scrolls, one labeled 'heaven' and the other labeled 'earth'. You have to attain both scrolls before making your way to the center of the forest."

"Where's that?" One of the Genin cried out. Anko let out an irritated sigh.

"Figure it out yourself. You aren't always going to have a map with you on a mission, you know!" She criticized. She rolled her eyes at the ignorance of the younger generation. "Okay, since that's settled, go to the booth to the side of you to get your scroll." She said, pointing to the shinobi at the side of all the teams at a wooden table. "If you have any questions… you better figure them out." She said before walking away, shaking her head and laughing at her own joke.

"Damn, that woman's weird, believe it." Naruto muttered next to Sakura. Sakura was too entranced in her admiration to either nod or shake her head.

A few minutes later, a curtain was drawn in front of the reception booth whilst all the other teams stared at it in anticipation. Sasuke narrowed his eyes on it, already contemplating its purpose. Sakura looked from him to Naruto, who was scoping his competition with a proud look on his face. Her green orbs darted back and forth between both of them before she closed her eyes and sighed.

Teams walked up cautiously towards the booth, emerging with a scroll in their hands and a contemplative look on their face. Sakura waited patiently for her team to be called while going over the rules of the second exam. She stood along the boundary of the wire fence, looking from her paper to the trees, and then back again. There was an eerie feeling to the forest; it was if it was trying to intrigue the cat before it snatched it by the throat. However, nothing else was to be expected by the name "Forest of Death". Regardless, she felt as though she had to be extra careful, for reasons she could not completely explain.

"Well, well, well, look who it is." A high-pitched voice interrupted her train of thought. Already knowing who it is, Sakura just rolled her eyes and tried to continue her thoughts. "Don't ignore me, Forehead!" The blonde screamed from beside her. This made Sakura unconsciously clench her fists. Her fuchsia strands shaded the top of her face.

 ** _Outer, calm down. We're above this._** Inner tried to reason, quite contrary to her character.

 _I know, I know. It's an old insecurity, I guess._ Sakura thought back.

"Do you think you're so high and mighty because you're on the same team as Sasuke-kun that you can avoid me? Let me remind you that Sasuke-kun would choose me over you any day." Ino stated smugly. Sakura took a deep breath and let out an audible sigh. She knew she should just turn around and walk away, but an unexplainable force was keeping her in her place. It was an old monster that was taking over her mind again. One of envy.

However, she couldn't let herself be drawn into a conflict with her once-best friend. Not at such an important time when her teammates were relying on her to not do anything rash. Fighting outside of the exam, after all, was prohibited.

"Look, Ino-pig, I really don't care if you think Sasuke would choose you over me or whatever. He can do whatever he wants to do, and quite honestly, I'm totally fine if he doesn't pick me. As long he is my friend and teammate, I am happy." Sakura said, her eyes conveying her aloofness towards the topic.

Ino sputtered for a few seconds before she regained her composure. "Are you saying you're completely over Sasuke-kun or something? And what's with dropping the honorific?" Ino asked, her periwinkle eyes narrowing.

Sakura let out another exasperated sigh. She truly did not want to answer her question, knowing that she would have to come to terms with her feelings. She would have had to anyway, but she was just evading her thought as much as possible. She wanted to believe that she was completely over Sasuke, but an old love is hard to get rid of, and Sakura was not ready to admit that she just wanted him as a friend instead.

"I…never said I was over him." Sakura mumbled, but Ino could hear her. This made Ino raise an eyebrow, tacitly questioning the pink-haired girl about her behavior once more. "But I have decided to take his feelings into account. Don't you see how annoyed he is by us? If we truly loved him, then we shouldn't force ourselves on him. Asking Sasuke to show affection towards us would be out of his character, and it would be as if he wasn't Sasuke at all. So now, I want to try to consider him my comrade instead of a love interest. It's better that way. If you want to keep pursuing him, I'm in no position to stop you. Just remember what I said." Sakura said as she began to walk off.

"H-Hey Forehead!" Ino called out again. Sakura stopped and turned around completely, staring at the blonde curiously and patiently waiting for her to continue. Ino's face turned a bit pink and her gaze shifted towards the ground. Ino just felt that she had to call out to Sakura and tell her something witty so they would start the banter they always had. However, she had no idea what to say. Unbeknownst to her, Sakura smiled – a true, genuine smile. She then turned around again.

"I'm sorry about what happened between us. Even though you're a little irritating and you have a big mouth," Ino snapped back to Sakura, biting her lip in anger, "I hope we can move passed this, for the sake of our own conscience." Sakura finished. She then turned her head around and looked at Ino from her peripheral vision. Ino caught sight of her one emerald green eye, which was as green as the leaves of a cherry blossom tree in the summer. "Good luck in the exam…Ino." Sakura said before running towards Naruto, who was jumping up and down and waving his arms for her to join him.

Ino stared at the place the pink-haired girl had once been in. A mixture of anger, sadness, and confusion overwhelmed her, and she could not help but wipe the small traces of tears from her eyes. She put her left hand to her forehead and grasped her temples, trying to rid herself of the headache that was ensuing.

Shikamaru and Chouji looked at each other, not wanting to get involved. Luckily for them, Ino turned around with an angered look on her face, seemingly to have turned back to normal. "Ha! I don't need the luck, she does!" She said mockingly, but the two boys could tell that she did not really have heart in what she said. She then stomped between the two and headed towards the opening of the gate where they would start the exam.

Shikamaru sighed and silently complained about how troublesome she was and Chouji simply ate his chips and worried about if he would have to suffer Ino's irate attitude throughout the entire exam.

* * *

"What was that about, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked when she reached him. Sakura took one look back and then shrugged with a shake of her head and a melancholy smile. "Was Ino giving you trouble?" Naruto asked, his eyes igniting with an immature fury.

Sakura sighed and smacked her forehead. "No, she wasn't. Even if she was, what are you going to do? Beat her up?" Sakura asked with her hands on her hips.

Naruto grinned proudly. "I wouldn't word it like that, but nobody messes with my friends. I'm not afraid of no woman, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"LISTEN UP, MAGGOTS!" A loud yell interrupted the ambience and made Naruto jump and cower behind Sakura. Even she had to take a step back out of fright. Sasuke looked at his two teammates and rolled his eyes, unwilling to admit that the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up as well.

"Okay…maybe I'm a little afraid of her." Naruto said as he peeked at the violet-haired woman from behind Sakura's shoulder. Sakura just nodded in accord.

"Now that all of you have gotten your scrolls, it's time to start the second exam. Make your way to your designated entrances." She instructed authoritatively. Everyone scurried off to their destination, not wanting to face the wrath of the proctor if they did not act immediately. "Oh, but one more thing." Anko added ominously. A few of the teams had already left the area, but the ones who stayed tuned their ears to head her. "You kids better watch your back. It's not called the Forest of Death for no reason." Anko said. "Well, good luck!"

Sakura took a gulp as she once more stared into the dark abyss of the forest. She felt a foreboding feeling overtake her, and she had the premonition that something was going to happen. She was so caught up in her apprehension that she could only faintly feel Naruto drag her along with him to their destination. She even missed the slightly curious look that Sasuke gave her as she continued to stare blankly into the mass of trees.

Now the only thing they had to do now was survive the second exam. And, if Sakura hypothesized correctly, that was going to be a lot harder than she expected it to be.

 **Hi everyone! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry that I've been gone for so long, but I recently just lost someone very important to me due to a driver that was high. She was very young, only in her twenties, and was one of the most important people in my life. I've spent a lot of time grieving, but I know that ultimately, she would want me to move on.**

 **Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter. I know things have been going a little slow, but I intend to pick up the pace from now going forward. Also, I won't be covering** ** _every_** **single part of the story, and there will be a few parts that will not be canon and will just fit in with the story line that I have set up.**

 **As always, I hope that you are all having a fantastic day wherever you are. If you have also suffered a tragic loss, due to car accidents or any other reason, please accept my condolences and wishes for a better tomorrow. If any of you guys need to talk, I'm always here.**

 **See you guys next time!**


	11. The Forest of Death

**All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

"Man, I gotta piss!" Naruto cried as they made their way through the forest. Sakura sighed in exasperation, having heard that same exact phrase at least three times in the past ten minutes.

It had been a quarter of an hour since the exam started. Everywhere Sakura looked, all she could see was moss and trees and brush. It was not much different from the forests that Lee sometimes took her to for meditation, but as she felt before, there was a strange ominous feeling about it. She could tell that Sasuke was feeling it too. Naruto, on the other hand, was too busy controlling his bladder to notice anything around him.

"Pathetic." Sasuke scoffed. Although Sakura agreed to some extent, she felt an overwhelming urge to defend her best friend. She narrowed her eyes at Sasuke in a sarcastic way, one that could not be interpreted as hateful, but disapproving.

"Well let's see how you'd fare if you had to hold your bladder for minutes on end." At that, Naruto started to laugh, but then crushed his knees together for fear that something other than laughter would come out. "Naruto, just go pee, for goodness sake!" Sakura scolded.

"Whew! Thanks, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he turned around. Sakura blanched as she heard a pant zipper undone.

"In the bush, you moron!" Sakura yelled as she pushed him head-first into the shrub. She then shook her head in dismay. No matter how much she was fond of him, it didn't change the fact that he was an idiot.

They waited for a minute before the silence became too much for Sakura. Deciding to strike up a productive conversation with Sasuke, Sakura asked, "So what's our plan of action? If we keep running through the forest, we're bound to get tired soon. That would leave us vulnerable."

Sasuke nodded gruffly. "You're right, but there isn't much more we can do." He said as he crossed his arms. "All of the teams entered from different spots in the forest, but it isn't big enough that we will not meet each other." Sasuke looked up to the sky. "The canopy of the trees is so extensive that the sunlight is barely coming through. It is as if it was night already." He concluded. Sakura nodded absently, knowing that he was probably just talking to himself.

There was a faint rustling in the bushes and a faint flash of yellow before Naruto appeared again, scratching the back of his head and looking relieved. Sakura sighed and shook her head; Sasuke's eyes narrowed at him. Naruto seemed to notice this tense behavior and immediately locked eyes with Sasuke. "What's wrong with you? It's like you are about to launch a coup d'état on me." Naruto grumbled.

Sakura's eyes immediately widened.

 _"So I see you two have teamed up against me." Kakashi said looking at Sakura and Naruto. He then looked over at Sasuke. "What about you, Sasuke? Are you planning to stage a coup d'état?" He asked the Uchiha. Sasuke didn't respond._

 _"A coo day…what?" Naruto whispered into Sakura's ear. Sakura just shushed him._

And they immediately narrowed.

That was _not_ her Naruto, and it seemed that Sasuke had reached the same conclusion.

Whoever it was, they also had issues with their transformation. The Naruto in front of her had his weapon pouch on his left leg, despite the fact that he was right-handed. It was like that Naruto was a mirror image: a transformation of what someone else perceived from their side.

Sasuke was about to charge, but before he could take one step forward, Sakura discreetly intercepted him. Sasuke looked shocked at her actions, and she could not tell whether it was because she stopped him from attacking or she actually figured out that Naruto was a poor facsimile. Kami help him if he thought the second one.

Sakura shook her head furtively, as if to not alert the blonde imposter of any movement. She then looked over at the person who was disguised as her friend and gave him as small smile. "Are you feeling better now? I expect less whining." Sakura teased, although she lacked the bite she usually had when bantering with him. The blonde in front of her just smiled, one that would not characterize Naruto's jovial nature. This one looked forced as if it was brought about by convention instead of feeling.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked quietly into Sakura's ear. Sakura met his eyes in her peripheral vision, but did not answer. She could not risk the imposter finding out about their perception. The fake Naruto approached.

"What's wrong with you two? We have to get going!" Naruto yelled boisterously. _At least the imposter got his loudness right,_ Sakura thought, irritated.

"Let's go then!" Sakura said as she motioned him along. Before she got too far, she turned her face over her shoulder and tacitly told Sasuke ' _Follow behind him.'_ Sasuke nodded slowly.

They could not go too long without finding Naruto, for they did not know whether he was in actual trouble or not. From what she saw, the people in the genin in the examination hall looked as though they were ready to kill, which she was sure they were. She could not help the sense of dread that overcame her at the thought of Naruto dead, but she quickly shook her head to rid herself of that idea.

"Oh, and Naruto, you forgot something." Sakura said with a bright smile on her face as she turned towards the fake-blonde. He smiled back.

"What would that be, Sakura?" He asked.

Just then, Sasuke took his metal wires and flung them around the imposter; however, before they could completely incarcerate him, he vanished, with a faint whistling sound following his disappearance.

"I'm surprised. You two found me out faster than I expected." A voice said to their right. Sasuke and Sakura turned towards the figure that stood before them: a man with an oxygen mask over his face. However, the thing that caught Sakura's attention was the four vertical lines on his Hitai-ate. _The Hidden Rain?_ Sakura asked herself. She knew that they were a relatively new village, and were already considered to have some of the strongest genin in the Five Nations. They had to be careful around him.

"Where is Naruto?" Sakura asked, taking a kunai out of her pouch and flicking it around her finger.

By the way his cheekbones raised, she could tell that the man before her was smiling sinisterly behind the mask. "You won't have to worry about him. You'll see him soon, where you're going." He said.

"Sasuke…" Sakura said slowly, not taking her eyes off of the opponent. "I know you can handle this guy alone. I'm going to go after Naruto." She said.

"Hn. Bad idea." Sasuke said. Sakura was about to protest, thinking that he was implying that she couldn't do it. "You shouldn't go off alone; all three of us will be split up." Sasuke concluded.

"If something's happened to him, it's going to be _our_ fault. I don't know whether you care what happens to him or not, but he is our teammate. He's _my_ friend." Sakura retorted. It was then that the Rain ninja grew impatient and charged at them, particularly at Sasuke. Sasuke immediately blocked him with this kunai, and Sakura took this chance to escape.

"Not so fast, little girl." The Rain ninja said as he noticed her sneak passed him. However, before he could do anything, Sasuke blocked his way. He gave one final nod to Sakura, who nodded back.

"I trust you, Sasuke. Be safe!" She said before leaving.

The Rain ninja's eyes narrowed, mirroring Sasuke's glare. No words were exchanged before he charged at him with his own kunai, intending to get a streak of the neck. However, Sasuke was too fast for him, and quickly dodged before delivering one punch right to his face, sending his opponent flying.

 _I have to finish this quickly_. Sasuke consolidated, looking at the shinobi in front of him that was already half-exhausted. _Pitiful_. He thought before he charged once more.

* * *

Sakura raced through the trees, trying to detect even the slightest trace of her blonde friend. She silently thanked Lee for all of the running he made her do in their training, otherwise her stamina would have immediately diminished. She felt an overwhelming sense of fear about the whereabouts of Naruto. She wouldn't forgive herself if anything happened to him.

Sakura heard a sound in the clearing next to her and immediately turned towards it. She flicked a kunai into her hand and stealthily made her way through the tops of the trees, trying to keep herself as concealed as possible. It was then that she saw Naruto create two shadow clones of himself, who both used their hands to propel him into the air as he descended on his opponent. While he was distracted, the two other clones skidded passed him with wire-connected kunai in their hands. In a single motion, they had flicked the kunai around the Rain ninja's torso and he had fallen to the ground, wrapped in the piercingly sharp black wire.

The real Naruto landed on top of the enemy with a proud look on his face. With the weight of the blonde boy crushing into his neck, the Rain shinobi blacked out from the pressure being put on his vertebrae. Naruto then waved to his two clones while he said something incoherent to Sakura. However, that did not bother her.

She was absolutely astounded by his victory. There was no doubt in her mind that he would win, because he had the competence to do so, but she had never seen him come up with such a well-executed plan in such a short time since she had known him. A wide smile broke out across her face at his achievement. It seemed as though she did not actually have to do anything at all, and Naruto was going to be fine.

Just as she thought that, she saw another shinobi creep up behind Naruto as she basked in his own accomplishments. Before Naruto could even conceive anything about the situation, Sakura had pumped all of the chakra she could into her legs and accelerated herself towards the enemy.

"Dynamic Entry!" She screamed as her leg came upon the Rain ninja's head, effectively crushing him into the ground and a relatively deep human-sized impression in the forest floor.

Naruto had jumped back from shock and quickly scurried away from the small ground debris that flew about. Sakura leaped back and skidded to a stop next to Naruto, who she gave a little wink to. This prompted a wide grin from him.

It appeared that her presence was needed after all.

"That was awesome, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he threw an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "Thanks for coming to find me." He said.

"Anytime." She said as she ruffled his hair with the arm that was not around his waist.

Then, a groaning sound protruded the silence of the forest. It seemed as though the shinobi that Sakura had knocked down had not passed out completely, much to Sakura's disappointment. However, she was more than happy to note that he was having trouble regaining his balance when he stood.

Once their opponent had managed to stand up, he wiped a small trace of blood from the side of his mouth before spitting on the ground in disgust at them. He then cautiously made his way over to his constricted friend, who did not seem to be getting up any time soon.

"You win this time, Konoha." He said maliciously as he attempted to hoist his teammate's larger body over his shoulder. Before he had a chance to leave, however, Sakura called out to him.

"Hang on! What scroll do you have?" She asked, remembering their objective. The Rain ninja scowled, but then reached into his pocket to reveal a Heaven scroll, the same as the one they had.

 _Crap, it's not the one we need._ Sakura thought with annoyance. However, she tried not to let it show.

"Throw it over, and don't try anything funny." She ordered, stepping a little bit closer to get within the projectile range.

"But Sakura, don't we already…" Naruto attempted to ask, but Sakura immediately cut him off. The Rain shinobi complied and threw the scroll of to her, which she caught with both her hands.

"We'll remember this." Their opponent said as he leaped into the trees, taking his teammate along with him.

"Please, like that scares us." Naruto said cockily as he dismissed the threat. He then turned to his rosy-haired friend. "Why'd you take the same scroll as ours, Sakura-chan? That's not going to get us anywhere." Naruto said.

"I know, but there is a chance that those guys have friends from their village that they might have told what scroll we have if we declined theirs. We just have to play it off that we have both right now so that we are not an immediate target." Sakura reasoned.

"Damn, that's smart." Naruto said as he nodded in approval. "Hey, where's the teme?" Naruto said as he looked around.

"He was handling another one of those Rain guys when I left him. We should go check up on him." Sakura said. Naruto nodded compliantly, and with that, they both disappeared from the plain into the trees.

The met up with Sasuke a few minutes later, and upon seeing his unharmed state, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She wondered if Naruto was also relieved by this fact, considering the fact that he would never show any affectionate emotions towards the Uchiha.

"It seems as though transformation is a main tactic in infiltrating and eliminating the team." Sasuke said with a hand on his chin.

"Well then, how're we supposed to tell when it's the real us or a phony?" Naruto asked with his arms crossed.

"We need to come up with some sort of password or code that will distinguish us from other people; something that only we know about." Sakura explained.

"I have one." The Uchiha murmured. Sakura and Naruto leaned in closer to hear him better. "Ask 'Ninja Song: 'Ninja Chance'. The answer is 'The chance to sneak up when a large number of enemies are making a scene. The quiet place has no secret hideout. It is important for the shinobi to know the right…" Sasuke tried to finish, but he was cut off by the impatient blonde.

"That's a shit password if I've ever heard one. No one would be able to remember that, believe it!" Naruto said indignantly.

"I think that's kind of the point, Naruto." Sakura said with a sigh.

Sasuke, who looked absolutely peeved with the interruption, quickly turned his eyes to her. "Do you have it?" He asked.

"The part you have said so far, yes." Sakura replied. "However, I agree with Naruto when he says that it is too long. If we keep using this password, then the enemy will eventually catch on. Other people have even greater memory capacity than we do."

"Then what would you suggest?" Sasuke asked. He was genuinely curious to see if Sakura had come up with a better plan.

A smile stretched across Sakura's face as she reached into her pouch. "Huddle in, boys." She said.

* * *

Their team was off again, racing through the trees with a look of purpose to cover up the fact that they were practically wandering around blindly. Sakura looked down at the bandage wrapping around her wrist, one that resembled a messily-prepared version of Lee's. Both Naruto and Sasuke had one around their wrists as well; the right one, to be precise. She had to make sure to incorporate as many specific variables as possible to make sure that it was a fool-proof system.

Suddenly, a burst of strong wind knocked them all from the trees, and Sakura was sent flying before she hit the ground with a large thud. She immediately saw black spots cloud her vision, but she refused to pass out in such a critical place. Especially because of the fact that there was an enemy close by.

She got up in one fluid motion, but immediately regretted it when she felt dizzy and started to lose her balance. Once she had become one with her senses again, she looked around the plain, only to see that Naruto and Sasuke were nowhere in sight.

 _I must have gotten separated from them. Ugh, why do these things always happen to us?_ Sakura lamented within her mind.

 ** _Stop complaining and get a move on._** Inner said unhelpfully. Sakura would have given a snarky reply if it wasn't for the rustle of the bushes next to her. Sakura immediately brought a kunai into her hand as she narrowed her eyes at the bush, ready to fling the projectile at anything that might pose a threat.

She saw black hair appear out of the bush, looking at her with the same calculated and wary eyes. "Sakura?" He asked.

"Sasuke." Sakura said with relief. However, she then grew tense again as she remembered that It could be an imposter. She immediately held up her right wrist to show her bandage wrapping, and Sasuke held up his as well.

"Strength." Sakura said, putting her hand down.

"Strength." Sasuke parroted with a nod. Sakura's eyes narrowed as she threw the kunai towards the one she knew was the imposter.

She tried to make her system as simple as possible, and something that no one would be able to figure out if they had been overhearing. The white bandage was just for show, to get the enemy to think that it was the only part of her identification process. However, there was more to it: along with showing the bandage, the person had to state what they desired the most. Each member of their team knew each other enough to know what they wanted. Sakura was _strength_ , Sasuke was _revenge_ , and Naruto was _Hokage_.

However, once they had encountered an imposter the first time, they had to make a mark on their bandage. The next time a friend or foe showed up, they would show them the bandage, and if the other person had a mark on their bandage, they had to say the word of the person who went after them when they introduced themselves to Kakashi. So it went Naruto-Sakura, Sakura-Sasuke, and Sasuke-Naruto.

Okay, so it wasn't that simple, but it was a much harder code to crack than Sasuke's (dare she say it) dumb incessant password.

Sasuke hissed at her, making her jump a little. A puff of smoke then appeared around the imposter, and she had to cover her face to avoid it getting into her eyes. When she finally unveiled them, she let out a high-pitched shriek. She would have been worried if someone heard her if she was not in the situation she was in.

In front of her was no man. The imposter was thirty-foot tall snake.

Sakura quickly gathered her wits and dodged the quick swipe of the tail that came towards her. The tail came upon her once more, but this time from above. She gripped her kunai and dodged again, this time jamming the knife deep into the snake's tail. Although she could feel the snake's tough exterior, she could see that she had made some sort of impact on it.

The snake's expression turned even more menacing as the serpentine yellow eyes glowed with malice. Sakura felt a shiver run down her spine. Never before had she encountered such a creature, and she had only ever fought people her size or at most a foot taller. She had no idea how to take out a snake!

She decided that the best plant of action was to take to the trees. It would be much harder for the snake to follow her if it had to slither through the maze of trees. Although she knew this would probably take her farther away from Sasuke and Naruto, her life was on the line.

With this in mind, she zipped into the cover of the trees. She stayed close to the ground, knowing that the higher up she was, the easier it was for the snake to get to her.

It seemed as though the trees proved no obstacle for the reptile, as it massive body knocked down the trees that she thought would be her salvation. In a quick motion, Sakura dove into the underbrush and hid there, trying to formulate her next plan of action. The serpent seemed to stop a few meters behind her. It surveyed the area for an unnatural flash of pink. Sakura had read many books about snakes and knew that she could not hide for long: there were certain snakes that were ultraviolet-sensitive, and they would be able to spot her even through the bushes. She condensed her thoughts into two choices: stay and fight, or run away as quickly as possible.

Both situations seemed unlikely to be in her favor.

Sakura took the riskier decision. Her body was trembling and she could barely form coherent thoughts, but she knew that if she tried to run away, she would eventually have to encounter the snake because of its superior speed. It was best that she tried to fight at that moment rather than after she had exhausted all of her energy.

She stood directly in front of the snake, and the two of them had a stare-down for a few moments. Sakura's eyes then darted towards the trail of green blood that the snake was leaving behind, which made her cringe a little. She was truly up against a monster.

The purple reptile then bared its long fangs at her, making Sakura's eyes widen so much that tears appeared. Crying in this situation was not optimal, but she could not help how scared she was. She took a few deep breaths and thought about her teammates.

 _I have to get back to them. I can't die here. I_ won't _die here!_ She repeated to herself over and over again. Taking the initiative of the fight (since she wouldn't have been able to dodge if the snake did), she pushed all of her chakra into her feet and sprung herself up, and then off another tree, and then another. She played a kind of pinball with the snake. While not at a lightning speed like Lee could have done, Sakura had diverted its focus.

Once she saw that the snake had started to get distracted with its target's lack of location, Sakura sprung off a branch directly over its head and drove her kunai down the long of its back. She felt some of the green fluid of the snake enter her mouth, and she quickly coughed it out in disgust. However, this made her lose her momentum, and she fell to the ground right next to the snake's tail. She felt her ankle twist painfully, and she knew that she would probably be unable to stand.

The snake made a dissonant sound of pain before whipping around to face her. Apparently, her efforts had not been enough to take out the snake. Sakura backed up as much as she could until her back hit a tree. She started to hyperventilate as the reptile closed in on her with the intent to eat her alive. She saw that its movements were immensely slowed, but she had no room in her mind to be proud about that fact.

 _Thank you Naruto, Lee, Sasuke. You guys have taught me so much. Forgive me for not being stronger._ Sakura thought as she closed her eyes and waited for the snake to engulf her.

However, it never did.

"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!" She heard a familiar voice call above her. Her eyes completely snapped open as she saw what looked like a burst of wind knock the snake completely over and into one of the tall pine trees adjacent to it. A figure then landed on a branch on a tree above it, looking at it with a scowl as it disappeared in a burst of smoke.

Hyuuga Neji.

His pearly eyes then took to her, his scowl replaced with an aloof expression. Once he saw that she was relatively fine, he turned to leave.

"Hang on!" Sakura called out to him, making him halt. He cocked his head towards her to show that he was listening. "Why…why did you help me?" Sakura asked, still trying to get over the adrenaline-high she had.

Neji let out a tsk as he turned to face her. "You're a kunoichi from Konoha. Despite this being a competition to see who will become a Chūnin, it is inexcusable to let someone die when you could do something. Besides," he started as he turned away from her, "I still need to prove to you how everyone's life is determined by destiny. Your destiny is to live a civilian life, and it does not sit well with me if you die without learning the difference between those who are born to be shinobi and those who are not. That is my reason." Neji said.

Sakura was about to call out to him, but he had already disappeared, probably to get back to his team. _Even when he's doing something good he's still a jerk._ Sakura thought derisively.

She tried to stand, but the pain in her left ankle reminded her that it had to be tended to before she started moving. The sprain wasn't too bad, she concluded, and she could still walk on it. However, she would have great difficulty and her speed would be significantly decreased.

Once she had finished wrapping her ankle, she limped as quickly as she could through the trees to try to find her teammates. She didn't dare call out their names, because it would alert other contenders that she was alone. She just had to find them on her own then.

Luckily, her search did not last for too long, as a blonde head emerged in front of her, with a black-haired individual leaning motionlessly on his shoulder. There seemed to be a kind of purple fuming exhausting from his neck, and he looked to be deep in pain.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" Sakura yelled as she moved towards them. Naruto tired eyes snapped towards her and he drew a kunai. However, there did not seem to be any time for skepticism.

She showed her bandaged wrist that had a tick mark on it. "Revenge." She said quickly as came up to them. "Naruto, what happened?" She asked frantically. It seemed as though Naruto was in worse shape than she was, for he was panting heavily and his eyes conveyed his exhaustion.

"Lady…Grass…b…" Before Naruto could even finish the word, he also passed out, falling on Sakura and taking Sasuke with him. With both of their weights combined, Sakura toppled over and became crushed under them.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" She cried as gathered both of them in her arms, looking around for a safe place to hide. "Don't worry boys, I've got you." She said as she cradled both of their heads.

For the first time, she truly had no one to rely on. She was completely alone.

 **Thank you all so much for reading this chapter! Also a big thank you to all of you who gave me your condolences. It truly warms my heart to hear that so many people care. I can't tell you how much your guys' support means to me.**

 **Please review and tell me what you thought. There wasn't a direct NejiSaku moment in here, but it wouldn't make sense if they had any kind of affectionate connection at this stage.**

 **As always, I hope that all of you are having a fantastic day wherever you are. See you guys next time!**


	12. The Forest of Death Part 2

**All rights to Naruto belong to Mishashi Kishimoto.**

Sakura found refuge under a large tree in the forest. She disregarded the moss and algae that surrounded her and got to work on attending to her teammates. Her hands shook with fear for their lives as she tried to patch up the loose cuts on their skin. She put wet towels on both of their heads since they were both running a concernedly high fever.

After she finished this, she realized that there was not much else that she could do but wait for them to awaken. However, she could not risk being idle, so she got to work on a few traps that would at least stall an offender enough for her to realize a surprise attack. She knew that she could not do much with her injured ankle, but she tried her best to conceal her limp.

Sakura frequently glanced back at her two friends, especially Sasuke. With each passing minute, there seemed to be more and more dark fumes erupting from that weird mark on the back of his neck. Sasuke looked indescribably uncomfortable, but even in his unconscious state he gritted his teeth as to not make a sound.

After Sakura was done with the few basic traps she had time to set up, she went back to her boys and sat in front of them. She could not tell how long she had been sitting there, just staring at their faces, but before she knew it, the area around her had already started to darken with the setting sun. Sakura's eyes started to fall with exhaustion.

She heard a rustle in the bushes behind her and immediately sprang awake again. She drew a kunai from her pouch and turned slowly towards the intruder, stepping out from underneath the haven of the large tree. Instead of a dangerous opponent like she might have expected, a small squirrel came rushing out of the bushes towards her, making her breathe an immediate sign of relief.

However, that was before she realized that the squirrel was running straight towards one of her traps. Against her better judgment, she sprung away from her two friends and landed right in front of the squirrel, effectively halting it. She questioned herself on why she did not just throw a kunai, since leaping into the open left her vulnerable to attack.

 _Shoot, why did I do that?_ She asked herself. She rolled her eyes at her own idiocy and focused her attention on the squirrel that was in front of her. Its eyes were wide with curiosity and a certain degree of fear due to the fact of her being of an exponentially larger size.

"If food's what you want, I don't have any for you." She said simply, feeling a bit silly for talking to an animal that probably couldn't understand her. She was about to turn around to check on the condition of her trap before she noticed a small white wrapping on the squirrel's back. Stepping forward cautiously, she set her eyes on the cryptic pattern on the squirrel's back. It was one that she was very familiar with.

Before the squirrel had time to act, Sakura had scooped it up and quickly disposed of the paper bomb by attaching it to a kunai and flying it into a neighboring tree. Upon impact, an explosion sent the tree crashing down and the dirt of the ground around her to swirl into a monstrous hurricane of dust. She covered her eyes with her forearm, still keeping the poor creature that she had just saved cradled to her breast. She wondered who would be so cruel to exploit innocent life in order to get to her.

"Well, well, well, it looks like the little girl saw through our little trap." Said a penetrating voice through the wall of smoke in front of her. Sakura could not help but let out an audible gasp as she jumped backwards, careful not to trigger the hazards she had created to protect herself.

As the smoke cleared, she could make out three distinct figures, each of them approaching her with caution despite the imperceptible barrier between them. Then, as the color returned to their figures, the first thing that Sakura caught a glance of was their Hitai-ate. A musical note was displayed proudly in the middle of the steel plating, boasting its significance over her.

 _The Hidden Sound?_ She thought to herself. She had never encountered a Sound ninja in battle before, and this fact made her shiver and cradle the squirrel closer for support. However, the squirrel, who was struck with fright as its perpetrators closed in, forced its way out of Sakura's grip and disappeared into the bushes.

Once again, Sakura was completely alone.

Sakura clenched her teeth and stuck her hand in her back pocket, pulling out a kunai and flicking it around her index finger in an attempt to threaten them. However, both she and they knew that nothing she could have done would cause them to retreat.

"What do you want?" She asked, securing her stance in front of her two friends.

"Nothing to do with you. So, if you don't mind, please step aside. It is Sasuke who we want to fight." The mummy man said. His face tilted to the side in a way that should not have been humanly possible, and that sent shivers running down Sakura's spine. However, she refused to relent.

"He's injured, and even if he wasn't, I wouldn't allow him to fight you. Either leave or…"

"Or what, little girl? I can blow you away with a single jutsu; you're hardly a match for even one of us." The dark-haired male said, his eyes wide with frustration and mockery. She was not unaccustomed to getting those kinds of looks from her past tormentors.

"Zaku, remember our mission." The mummy muttered to his teammate. He was met with a furious glare.

"I know, Dosu. Stay out of this." He said before he turned back to Sakura. "You're really making me mad now, Pinky. Step aside or I'll move you." He threatened. Sakura had no words to respond with, but she held her ground, meeting his glower with her own. "Okay then." He said as he prepared to impel towards her.

"Hang on, Zaku." The man called Dosu said as he stepped forward and uncovered a patch of grass that she had dug up. She scowled at him, but did not fret. "This kind of grass does not grow in this part of the forest, and the discoloration gives away an obvious trap. If you are going to set a trap, it's best to make it less noticeable." He said, a slight condescending tone appearing in his voice.

"You're right." Sakura said. "Or maybe the conspicuousness _is_ the trap." Right as she said her last word, an explosion went off, right from underneath the ground.

What would be the actual point of digging a hole if someone were to climb out of it? She was in no condition to dig one so deep that they would not be able to, so she decided on an alternative: there would be a stash of paper bombs inside the hole, so if someone were to lift the ground cover, they would immediately activate. Smoke filled the area, which made it harder for her to see the position of her opponents. She frowned at this, not thinking that her plan would give her less of a vantage point.

"Hey, not bad." She heard a mocking voice say; one that sounded like it came from that Zaku guy. However, this voice did not come from in front of her, but from above her. She quickly turned her gaze upward to see that the three of them had descended from the trees and were coming towards her. She quickly tore her kunai into the wire she had set up beside her, releasing the log from above.

The presence of the obstacle did not faze them in the slightest, and Dosu just blew it to pieces without a second thought. Sakura grinned at this, knowing what would happen next.

As the log broke, a net of thin wires entrapped all of them, sending them to the ground as if the strings were made of a heavy metal. That was because she had her own chakra infused into it. It was a risk, for she had never done something like that before. Kakashi had taught her how to fuse chakra into her own body parts, so she thought that a chakra-net would make a much more efficient weapon that just regular wire. Sakura knew that she had to take this opportunity to escape.

However, the net did not hold them for long; Sakura found this out when she heard a piercing sound permeate through the air, making her cover her ears. Nevertheless, she still saw the net that she had tried so hard to make be swept away by a burst of wind. Her eyes widened as she realized that all of her traps had been activated. There was absolutely nothing she could do then to escape the situation.

Zaku stood up first, his face turned downwards so that she could not see an expression. However, she could see that his shoulders were moving up and down rapidly, as they would be doing if he was either laughing or crying. She had a large sense of doubt in her mind that he was even remotely sad.

Her assumption was correct because in the next moment, he burst out into a maniacal laugh that made her stagger back a little bit, closer to her two teammates that could not provide her the support she needed.

Zaku laughed for a full minute, even making his own teammates look at him as if he were crazy. When he finished, he set his eyes right upon her. He was smiling a killer's smile; his eyes were wide with anger and antagonism. There was actually a cut over his right eye, and it seemed to be bleeding substantially. However, he made no move to apply pressure or cover it up and just let the blood exude from his wound and stain his shirt.

In all honesty, it made him look even more like a psychopath.

"Now you're gonna die, Pinky." He said in a demonic voice as he slowly came towards her. Against her better judgment, Sakura moved out from underneath her shelter, refusing to back down from someone who threatened her and her friends. She knew that she had no choice but to fight him, and if her boys had taught her anything, it was that it was best to face a problem head-on.

However, Sakura knew her odds against them. They were bigger, and most likely stronger, than her. She would be lucky to take even one out, but the fact that there were three was concerning. She had to be clever rather than try to best them in strength.

Zaku still crept towards her, like a serial murderer closing in on his prey. The other two stood behind him, looking a little peeved that he was taking his own sweet time about his revenge. This gave Sakura a small opening.

Dexterously, she attached a paper bomb to a kunai with one hand a flung it at her opponent, quite aware that he was more than capable of dodging it. When he did so, a satirical smile graced his face.

"Is that all-?" He started before an explosion was set off behind him, effectively making him turn to realize his mistake. It was then that Sakura infused her chakra into her feet to spring her forward.

"Leaf Hurricane!" She said as she delivered a spinning side kick to Zaku's jaw, sending him into the tree adjacent to her with a dramatic thud. He slowly slid down the tree and looked as though he had passed out.

 _Hm, that was easier than I thought._ Sakura thought to herself. However, she had no real time for praise before a sudden piercing wind cut through her skin and sent her flying back towards her teammates, almost making her lie directly inside the tree with them. Sakura slowly rose to her feet, aware of the aches and pains that scoured her body.

She heard a strange ringing noise and held her ear in discomfort. It was similar to the high-pitched noise one would hear after an explosion, but this caused her gnawing pain. She withdrew her hand from her head to see that it was covered in blood, making her eyes widen as she hyperventilated out of fear.

The sound made her slightly lose her balance, but she struggled to keep herself standing. She looked directly towards Dosu, who seemed to be smirking behind his wrappings. If Sakura had any more strength within her, then she would have tried to smack it off of his face.

"What did you do to me?" Sakura asked as she tried to focus on his figure, which became increasingly blurry by the minute.

"Sound may not be tangible, but it is one of the body's worst enemies. When your ear is hit with such a piercing sound, your brain starts to lose balance quickly. I must commend you on your resilience thus far. However, your evasion will not happen again." He said as he readied the contraption on his arm once more.

Sakura braced herself to jump away from the dangerous vibrations that he would emit, but she suddenly found herself on the ground with a sharp pain in her ankle. The situation she had been in must have numbed her pain for her own survival. However, she was now vulnerable because her ankle could not take any more pressure on it. If she was lucky, it had not been completely shattered with the jumping around that she had to do.

Sakura started to feel the aftereffects of the adrenaline, quickly bringing her into exhaustion. The girl, who Sakura had noticed had not been named yet, started to cackle evilly as she looked at Sakura's weakened state. Out of her periphery, Sakura saw Zaku stumble a bit from the tree that she had kicked him into. He never took his demented eyes off of her, and he looked at her as if he wanted her to die a most painful and cruel death, which he probably did.

"Let me finish her." Zaku growled out. "I'll make her regret ever messing with us." Another smile appeared on the maniac's face. Sakura tried to pull herself up using her upper body, but her ankle would not cooperate. "Oh, so she can still move?" Zaku asked as he took slow strides towards her. "I'll make sure to change that." Zaku said as he pointed his palms straight at her.

Sakura felt her heart rate quicken as she realized that she might be at the brink of death. Everything that she had worked for, everything she had struggled to achieve, was all for nothing. In the end, she did not become a revered ninja like she had hoped. She was nothing but a failure.

 _No…_ She thought to herself. _That's not true…_

She had still made so many good friends over the course of her journey. She had become so close to Naruto that he was basically her best friend, something that he had never been before. When she had seen the smile that was on his face when she had decided to give him her time, she realized how spoiled she had really been. He had become a constant in her life, and he would never be able to understand how much his presence meant to her.

Lee had been the single most inspiring person throughout her entire journey. Not only was he reliable and patient, but he was also supportive when no one else had been. He was the first one to believe in her when the whole world tried to tell her that she would not amount to anything. If anything, Lee had made her who she was.

She had even gotten on genial terms with Sasuke, who she knew had hated her for her tenacity in gaining his affections. She had never stopped to look at him as a person, which was ironic for someone who claimed to be in love with him. Her journey had made her consider other people's feelings before her own, and she realized now that a part of being teammates is the will to abdicate everything one has for the wants of another. If Sasuke had taught her anything other than how to deal with assholes, it was how to be mature and how to stop relying on emotions to do the fighting.

Then…there was the Hyuuga. He was not someone she was even remotely fond of, and he did nothing to encourage her to be who she was. However, even she had to admit that he had had a profound impact on her perception of herself. He made her see that if one wants to achieve greatness, they will have to put in their hard work and effort. If it was not for his blundered logic, she might not have had the same motivation to carry out her goal.

All of them – they had made a deep impression in her. They were not people whom she wanted to disappoint, and definitely not people she wanted to see hurt. At that moment, when she was struggling to look at death in the face, she had never felt more blessed that her life had turned out the way it did. If the time had come, she would die happily.

However, she refused to believe that time had come. Not when her friends were injured and in need.

Sakura struggled to get to her feet, staggering a little to keep her weight off of her injured ankle. Dosu and Kin looked surprise at her ability to move, but Zaku ultimately seemed unaffected by her attempts to resist him. She saw a small vortex appear around his palms and knew that she had to do something in order to counteract his attack.

Sakura readied a position she knew Lee would never approve of. She had only seen him do it a couple of times, but she was a quick visual learner. She knew that she would never be able to pull it off with the same kind of speed that Lee had, but it was the only shot she had.

At the first instance of the sharp dissonance, Sakura had collected any remaining chakra she had in her and leaped out of the way before spinning a bit on the pad of her uninjured foot before propelling herself toward her enemy.

Her technique was flawed, she decided as her body gained proximity to her opponent's. She would never be able to accomplish what Lee had done without practice and guidance. The fact that she did not know the Eight Gates did not help either. So, instead of making a poor imitation of the move, she made it her own.

"Lotus-style: Primary Blossom!" She yelled as she infused her chakra into the top of her foot to kick Zaku into the air. His teammates' eyes followed accordingly, but if she pulled this off right, she would deal with them later.

It was the slight moment of hesitation she had when she was deciding what to do next that Zaku had gained control of the situation again. He had blown her back with another wave of sound, but not before Sakura had used the last of her strength to kick him towards the ground, just as Lee did with his Front Lotus. As she descended from her position, she could not help but inwardly smile, for she impacted him right in his face.

The only thing that had stopped her head from making an impression in the ground was the fact that the girl, who had been silent the entire time, had caught her by her hair, leaving her body to absorb the excruciating pain of the forest floor.

The black-haired girl pulled at her ponytail with great force, and she could feel a few strands of her pink locks being ripped out of her head. Through her blurry eyes, she could vaguely see the red that covered her injured ankle. It was pointed in a peculiarly abstruse angle – one that must not have been natural. She dared not move it for fear that she would injure it more than she already had.

"What a shame, you little brat." The Sound kunoichi tsked as she continued to pull harder on Sakura's hair. "You've caused my team a great deal of trouble, and I can't say I'm fond of your persistence." Another tug ensued. "But I'm pretty sure that Zaku would want to finish you off himself when he wakes up."

Despite the massive headache she was getting, she could still bite back with her own comment. "That was what he said before, but look at the heap he is in now." She remarked as she looked towards Zaku; his face was in the dirt and he struggled to move his limbs. However, much to Sakura's disdain, he was still conscious. She grimaced at her circumstances, knowing that there was a small chance that she was going to get out of the situation with the damage she had done to their teammate.

"Kin, keep her under control. No one knows what else she has up her sleeve." The mummy said as he crept closer and closer towards the tree where Sasuke and Naruto laid. Sakura strained her neck to look at the imposing figure as he walked agonizingly slow in order to cause Sakura a long, dreadful pain. Sakura felt her tears flow down her cheeks at her hopelessness. With the kunoichi holding her hair and her friends unconscious, she was completely helpless.

She had failed them…again.

 ** _No…_** A voice said from within her. **_It's not over until you're dead. They are trying to hurt your friends._** The voice sounded like Inner, but it was much deeper, much more solemn. It sounded more like a monster than the sarcastic, perverted, humorous ego that she had known all of her life. **_Kill them…_**

The voice growled so low that Sakura almost though that she had mistaken its words. She could not do that! They were people, just like her. She would not become like them; she refused to become as bloodthirsty as they were.

 ** _They are trying to get to Sasuke and Naruto. Kill them!_** The voice said as Dosu reached the opening to her refuge. **_Unless you truly want them to die…_**

 _No! I'll never let them die…_

Sakura brought out her kunai and clutched it tightly in her hands. Kin had noticed this and smirked, bemused at the pitiful attempts to combat her.

 _I'll never let them die…_

"You really think that is going to do anything? You're more stupid than-" Her sentence was suddenly cut short as she was sent tumbling backwards from the lack of support he could hold onto. The only things that she saw before she hit the ground were the strands of blossom-pink hair that ruffled in the movement of her hands. Sakura did not turn back to see the old part of her fall to the ground and get swept away by the wind. She brought a hand to her neck and rubbed it, familiarizing herself with its bareness. She then stood up slowly, her opponent's eyes following her every move.

 ** _You better not let them die._** The voice reiterated again with solemn authority.

Kunai in hand, Sakura sprang towards her offender, who was still on the ground in shock. Once she had gotten over her initial paralysis, she had pulled out a kunai for herself and blocked Sakura's attack, but was not balanced enough to prevent herself from falling onto her back. She looked up at Sakura's face as she struggled to keep her sharp object from penetrating her skin. The girl's eyes, still their normal jade green, had been filled with an emotion that Kin had never imagined the girl could exhibit.

Sakura could feel herself hyperventilating as her muscles implored her to stay down. However, she did not have the mind to listen to them. After she had gotten Kin on the ground, she quickly sprang up and made her way straight for Dosu, who had been diverted from his endeavor because of the commotion behind him. Sakura was not as fast as she would have liked, since all of her chakra was depleted, but she was able to push her muscles to the limit in order to approach him.

Dosu quickly brought the metal device on his arm up, effectively blocking her attack. Sakura, however, had anticipated this, and kicked him in the back of the leg with her uninjured foot so that he lost his balance. Then, in a volatile decision, she quickly took a swing at the man, not expecting it to have had the impact that it did.

She had slashed through his eyes.

Dosu fell to the floor, holding his face and moaning with pain. His fur coat attached to the back of him was stained with the blood that pooled around him. He did not dare to detach his hand from his eyes for fear that he would bleed out.

"Dosu!" Kin cried out as she watched her teammate fall to the floor. She was not as worried about his safety as she was for her own. How could that small girl, as injured as she was, have enough strength to even continue fighting? _Now's my chance. She's probably drained of all the chakra she has. She has no chance against me._ She thought sinisterly as she carefully took out her senbon.

Sakura was still staring at the flailing body of her, her unseemly-cut hair shading her eyes. She looked down at the kunai who had cut through his flesh to see that his blood was slowly dripping off of it. The sight made her breath catch in her throat. She wanted to cry, to kneel down beside him and say that she was sorry. However, he was the enemy, and what she did was right in order to protect those she cared about.

 ** _Good…now take care of that one._** The voice dictated to her just as Kin charged towards her with the intent to kill. Sakura only narrowly dodged the senbon that were thrown at her, but she was not quick enough to stop Kin from tackling her to the ground. Kin clutched the senbon in her hands as she forced them close to Sakura's face, against her violent protests. Kin managed to drag the needles down her left cheek and her throat, making three identical claw marks in their wake. Sakura cried out in pain as she tried even harder to push the girl off of her.

Black filled her vision as she struggled to stay awake, already knowing that she had gone well-passed her limit. Kin was about to take another stab at her when Sakura grabbed her wrist, effectively halting her assault.

"How do you even have strength left to fight?" Kin cried with frustration. "Just be a good girl and die!" Kin finally managed to stab all three of her senbon into Sakura's right shoulder, and had the puncture been any more accurate, it would have torn through her artery. Regardless, Sakura was still bleeding profusely.

Along with the black dots that already hindered her focus, her vision became blurry from the tears of her pain. She gritted her teeth to prevent her from wailing out loud; she would not give her opponent that satisfaction.

Through her struggle, she managed to crane her neck towards her friends, both still knocked out and oblivious to what was happening. Sasuke winced in severe pain as his hand unconsciously went to his neck, where it was still emitting that strange purple fume. He looked so vulnerable. She had never seen Sasuke like that before, nor did she ever fathom that he could look like that.

 _I'll never let them die…_

She then focused her attention on her assailant, who was using all of her strength to claw at Sakura. Sakura noticed it in her eyes: she was afraid, just like her. It was probably due to her attack on her teammate, which even scared Sakura herself. However, she had no room for pity against an enemy, and if she was trying to harm her, than she would sure as hell defend herself.

Sakura grabbed Kin's wrist again, and with all remaining strength she had left, she twisted her wrist and sent her own senbon into the base of her neck. It was a dangerous blow, but the wound was not deep enough to be fatal. Kin staggered back, first out of shock, but then out of pain. In her panic, she unfortunately ripped out all of the senbon from her neck, thus making it bleed profusely. Kin started to choke on her own blood as it started to drip out of her mouth. She was fading in and out of consciousness, just like Dosu beside her.

Despite her victory in getting Kin off of her, Sakura had no time to rest. In the next moment, she was covering her ears and screaming as a huge gust of wind and a dissonant screech entered her ears. Her hand left her open shoulder wound, leaving it with nothing to stop her from bleeding out. However, this was not concern to Sakura as she remained withered on the floor from the attack. She curled herself into a protective ball as if it would block out the horrible sound. However, nothing she could do could assuage the pain that was brought upon her. She had no more strength to do anything.

"It's time to die, you brat!" A voice screamed, and although Sakura could not see the owner, she knew it was Zaku, who had seemed to regain his consciousness.

Suddenly, the incursion stopped, allowing Sakura to finally breathe again. However, this relief did not last for long, as the pain that wracked Sakura's body had finally begun to take a toll of her. She could feel herself falling out of consciousness, which numbed the pain that she felt on her shoulder and everywhere else.

The last thing she heard before she blacked out was an agonizing scream. The last thing she saw was a faint trail of a purple fume.

* * *

When Sakura had awoken, she was in someone's arms. She listened to the heartbeat of the person next to her, which was too fast to be anywhere near the state of calm. Her whole body felt numb, as if she was in temporary paralysis. Her chest felt heavy as though she had been underwater for hours.

Sakura made a futile attempt to move her arms, which only ended in a sharp sting of pain. Sakura visibly grimaced, which alerted the person next to her. The arms around her tightened softly, yet cautiously in case any sudden movement would harm her.

"Sakura-chan? Can you hear me?" A familiar, yet blurry voice called out to her. Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but her that felt so dry that the only thing that resonated from her was a fit of coughs. The person next to her called out for the others to help her. It was then that she took the chance to open her eyes. To her relief, she saw no other than her own teacher, Rock Lee.

"Sakura-chan!" Another voice exclaimed as it made its way over to her. She could tell just by the volume that it was Naruto, who immediately skidded to her side. Although her eyes were still sensitive to the light, she could make out his messy blonde hair and his worried face. Naruto gave a huge sigh of relief at the sight of her green eyes, which reassured him that she was okay. "You scared us, Sakura-chan! What would we have done if something happened to you?" There were tears in Naruto's eyes; Sakura wished she had the strength to reach up and wipe them away.

"Naruto…" Sakura croaked out, barely audible to herself, "are… are you and Sasuke… alright?" Sakura breathed out. Naruto shook his head frantically to try to rid his eyes of his tears.

"Don't worry about us, you idiot! You almost died!" Naruto exclaimed. "I don't even know what happened! I only remember fainting after some snake-lady bit Sasuke on the neck, and the next thing I know, Teme and Freak Eyes are standing outside in the clearing and Bushy Brow over here is trying to stop you from bleeding." Sakura turned her gaze towards the other sitting next to her, making him look down at her worriedly.

It then all came back to her. She remembered cutting her hair to try to keep Dosu away. She remembered the injuries she had afflicted on her enemies, all the bloodlust that she had felt within her. She remembered that voice in her head, which had only a small resemblance to Inner, telling her to kill in order to live.

Sakura's eyes shot open and she started to hyperventilate, scaring the two boys beside her. They tried to restrain her before she hurt herself more. However, Sakura could not think about the pain when all she saw on the ground around her was blood. She was unsure if it was hers or her enemy's, but regardless, it scared her to no end.

"What have I done? What have I done?" She repeated incessantly as she flailed against her two friends.

"Sakura-chan! Stop!" Naruto cried as he tried to restrain her. It took a few moments before Sakura had finally calmed down, and she had immediately turned towards Naruto and buried her face into his chest.

"What have I done?" She repeated again as her body shook with sobs.

Despite her grief over her inhumane actions, there was a part of her – a small part that she wished was not there – that took pride in her fight.

 **Hello everyone! I know I said that I would be out for longer, but I wasn't really doing anything, so I decided to pick up this story again! Thank you all for the support you have shown me over the past few months, because it truly means a lot to me to have such supportive readers.**

 **What do you guys think of this new side of Sakura? I thought that it would add a little bit of drama to the story because of her growing internal conflict. Please tell me what you guys think, because it would really be appreciated. Also, tell me if you like these longer chapters, or would you rather them be shorter?**

 **Anyway, I hope that everyone is having a fantastic day wherever you are and that you all have a very Happy Holidays! See you guys next time!**


	13. Nothing to Fear

**All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Sakura was currently being carried on Lee's back as both Team Seven and Team Nine made their way blindly through the forest, trying to navigate themselves towards their final destination.

From what Sasuke had told her, although the Sound shinobi had given up their scroll in the battle, it was another Heaven Scroll, which meant that they still had to keep searching. Team Nine had already acquired the two scrolls beforehand and happened to stumble upon her team as the fight was taking place.

Sasuke refused to tell her anything about what had happened after she had blacked out. Hell, he refused to even look at her. He just kept rubbing that spot on the back of his neck where there were some strange tomoe-like symbols, and if Sakura's eyes were not playing tricks on her, there were a couple of instances where she saw him _grinning_ to himself.

Talk about odd.

She had offered to walk herself, but after Neji had given his "definitive diagnosis" that her foot was severely fractured, Lee had taken it upon himself to carry her. She felt absolutely awful about it since he had already done so much for her. Naruto offered to take her in his stead, but Lee promptly refused, arguing that Naruto was also fatigued and that he himself still had a lot of energy left. However, Lee seemed to be strangely bothered about something; something Sakura could not put her finger on.

"Lee, I'm serious. I can walk." Sakura pleaded, but Lee just shook his head.

"I do wish that you would stop saying that." She heard a condescending voice say from in front of them. "It's obvious that he isn't going to put you down, and I have already told you that your foot is fractured. You would only slow us down if we let you walk, so just be quiet and stop being so tenacious." Neji said as he narrowed his eyes at her before turning around and continuing on his way.

Sakura raised her eyebrow. "He's acting like more of an asshole than usual." She commented, mostly to herself. He had always used that kind of tone with her, but she could not help but feel that there was a certain edge to it. She was not too sure if it was because of her or some other factor.

She did not forget how he had helped her in the forest before, and she was more than grateful that he was there. However, it seemed as though he wanted to keep his small act of kindness a secret, as if to avoid hinting to the others that he had any interaction with her.

Sakura scoffed internally. _As if I want it any differently._ She thought with a hint of agitation.

"Don't take it too personally." Tenten said as she sweatdropped. "He's been acting like this ever since that fight finished. I can imagine why." Tenten said as she looked at the ground, contemplating about something. Lee quickly looked towards her and gave her a quick shake of the head. However, since Sakura was on his back, she was unable to make out his expression.

"What? What do you mean?" Sakura pressed further. The brown-haired girl glanced towards her, back to Lee, and then to her again, before rubbing the back of her head and laughing nervously.

"Nothing really, just something we saw on the way here." Before Sakura had time to question her any further, Tenten had run off to join Neji at the front of the group.

"Lee…" Sakura started suspiciously. She felt Lee's muscles tense as she continued, "is there something that you're not telling me?" She asked. She heard Lee sigh, and knew that it was something that the rest of the group had tacitly agreed not to tell her.

Lee had fallen to the back of the pack, not because he was slowing down, but he wanted as much room between himself and the others as possible. "There is something that happened while you were asleep. Sasuke-kun told us not to tell you." Lee said.

 _Sasuke said that? Sasuke usually wouldn't care whether I knew something or not…_ Sakura thought.

"Well, what was it?" She asked. Lee hesitated, as if he was trying to stall time enough for a distraction of some sort. Seeing that no one nor nothing was coming to his rescue, he decided to defy what the others had said before. Lee knew Sakura had the right to know what had happened with her teammate.

"I was not there the entire time, so I do not think that I can give you an accurate description of what had happened." Lee started. "I heard something happening while we were traveling through the forest, so I rushed towards it alone. When I got to the plain that you were on, I saw you passed out next to a large tree stump and…" Lee stumbled on his words, not exactly sure how to convey what he wanted to tell her. "I saw Sasuke-kun with these strange black markings all over his body and a strong purple aura surrounding him. I could just feel the surge of power that he was emitting. I had not been there to see the entire spectacle, but the one thing I could remember was how…Sasuke-kun broke that man's arms as if they were sticks. It was as if he was possessed."

Sakura's eyes widened at this. She had never imagined that Sasuke had that kind of power.

"He seemed as though he was going to kill everyone in sight, so I immediately jumped down to shield you from him, despite the fact that you were already unconscious. When he looked at me, I saw that his eyes had turned a blood-red color, which I am guessing is the Uchiha dōjutsu that has been historically prized in Konoha. He walked towards me slowly, and I thought that he was about to attack me. However, he happened to walk past me and to the shinobi that had fallen on the ground in front of the tree; the one with bandages around his face." Lee said, remembering what had happened.

 _-Flashback-_

 _Sasuke kicked Dosu over so that he was flat on his back before kneeling down beside him. Dosu had regained a bit of consciousness, but he refused to remove his hand from his eyes. Blood still poured out of his sockets as he made a feeble attempt to stop its flow._

 _"_ _Hn. You've lost. All of your teammates have fallen." Sasuke said condescendingly. "Give us your scroll, and I'll let you all live." Dosu shook his head vehemently as he reached a shaky hand into his ninja pouch and uncovered a Heaven Scroll, the scroll that they already had. Sasuke grunted in disappointment. "Not that any of you are particularly alive right now." Sasuke finished as he turned away from the incapacitated body._

 _Lee was busy wrapping Sakura's shoulder, but he was more than aware of the looming presence next to him. Its gravity was so exceptional that it sent goosebumps up Lee's arms. However, he had no time to shirk away from the situation. Not when his student needed him. If Sasuke wanted to fight, then he would give him one. However, he would never lay a hand on Sakura if he had anything to say about it._

 _That was when Lee heard a pained yell erupt from Sasuke, making him snap his head up. Sasuke was on his knees, his dark aura diminished. He clutched his neck and screamed in agony as the strange black marks receded from his face and arms. His eyes turned back to their normal color as well._

 _After the metamorphosis was done, Sasuke laid on the forest ground, panting and dripping with sweat. He slowly tried to rise, but found himself pushed back down by his own pain. Lee looked at him in shock, not knowing how to deal with the situation. He decided that he would focus on Sakura first since her blood loss would be fatal if he did not do something about it._

 _Neji and Tenten jumped onto the ground next to Lee, having seen the whole spectacle from the sanctuary of the trees. Neji's eyes trailed from Sakura to Sasuke, looking at the enigma with analytical eyes. Sasuke turned his fatigued body towards them, glaring at all three of them. Lee gripped Sakura tighter, recognizing Sasuke's look as the one that had ruthlessly taken out the Sound nin._

 _"_ _She won't be told_ anything. _"_ _He mandated as he tried to sit himself up. None of the members of Team Nine answered, but none of them had the mind to refuse._

 _-End of flashback-_

"It was not long after that Naruto-kun woke up. He started to fuss about you since you were battered and your long hair had been cut." Sakura cringed a bit at that, remembering that her pink locks were probably all over the forest floor. "While Naruto-kun and I tended to you, Neji and Sasuke-kun had transported the bodies somewhere. I am not sure if they are still alive." Lee said gravely.

Sakura felt tears prick her eyes at the news. Of course, they had tried to kill her and the rest of her team, but did they really deserve to die? Was Sasuke so cruel that he would just leave them in the middle of the forest to bleed to death? It was her fault if Dosu and Kin died. _She_ was the one that harmed them.

 **They** ** _tried to harm_** **you** ** _._** The dark voice from before. **_You did what you had to do to make sure that you'd live, stupid._** It castigated.

Sakura's eyes widened, unbeknownst to her teacher. She silently had an internal conversation with herself. _Who are you?_ She asked the voice. Unlike Inner, who she had somehow created a mental image of, this voice was completely formless, and as Sakura closed her eyes and tried to embody the voice, she just found herself looking at darkness.

 ** _That's too hard to explain. Just know that I'll be your new 'Inner' from now on._** It said with a small, humorless laugh.

 _I'm so confused. Where is she? Where's Inner?_ She asked, feeling her internal voice tremble.

 ** _I_** **am** ** _Inner._** The voice replied. **_Inner was just your own manifestation of your thoughts, as am I._**

 _No…you can't be. You're filled with bloodlust. I…I can't be like that._ But in the end, could she not?

The new Inner snickered. **_Not quite. I was born from your fear, your primal instinct that makes you fight to survive. The other Inner was made up of your childhood emotions, ones that mean absolutely_** **nothing** ** _in this world._** Sakura was still so confused. She laid her head down on Lee's shoulder. He turned his neck to look at her but made no comment. **_Listen here, love. The ninja world is not going to be nice to you. You know this in the back of your mind, but you refuse to acknowledge it because of your 'morals'. I'm here to make sure that if someone is trying to kill you, you fight back, no matter how unethical it is._**

 _I still can't believe it. I can't believe that you're me, after what you made me do!_

She heard Inner exhale and exasperated sigh. **_Outer, I'm not going to be like that to everyone, obviously. You're not some serial murderer. But I want you to realize that if it wasn't for me, we might not have been having this conversation. It's time to grow up and acknowledge that, Sweetie._**

"Sakura-chan?" Lee asked as he strained his eyes to look at her. Sakura broke out of her reverie at his voice and was able to flash him a small smile. She knew that Lee could tell that she was faking it, but he decided not to question her and ran to catch up with the others. Sakura could not be more grateful towards him.

Sakura laid her forehead once again on his shoulder. Everything just seemed to be so confusing, and as the pressures of the ninja life were truly becoming conspicuous to her, she felt the black hole inside her grow, tainting her mind with the horrors that the world held.

She had survived the battle, but her mental scar would be the true killer.

* * *

"I think we're almost out!"

"No we're not, stupid. We passed this tree stump ten minutes ago."

"What if this forest is full of tree stumps that look similar!?"

"Will you boys please stop yelling before you get us all ambushed!?" Sakura cried through Sasuke and Naruto's bickering. Team Nine looked back and forth between the two opposing sides and started to doubt their decision to team up with the crazy trio. Well, it was more like Tenten and Neji were doubtful, while Lee just commended them on their youthful banter.

"Neji, isn't there anything you can do?" Tenten asked her teammate. Neji closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I have already tried looking, but there is only so far that I can see, even with the Byakugan." He said. "We'll have to get closer to the target for it to work. However, I cannot keep it activated without draining my chakra." Neji explained.

Lee went over to a rock and sat Sakura down, kneeling beside her to check on her foot again. He was no doctor, but the blood he could see through the wrapped bandages was indication enough that she was still injured.

Neji looked over towards them, his eyes fixed on Sakura's foot. "If we do not finish this task soon, her foot will become infected and may need to be amputated." Neji concluded.

 _Well, thanks for trying to lighten the mood._ Sakura thought to herself with a grimace. She heard Inner chastise her for not acknowledging the severity of the situation.

Sakura decided that this Inner was nowhere near as fun to talk to as the last one.

"We probably only have one or two days left of the exam. We have to figure out how to get out of here fast." Tenten said as she put her hand on her chin.

Sasuke grunted, bringing the attention towards him. "We should split up." He said simply.

"Hah!? How's that going to help all of us reach there?" Naruto cried out in confusion as Sasuke unconsciously rubbed his ear in annoyance.

"We shouldn't be working together anyway. Besides, we still haven't gotten the scroll we need." Sasuke said. He thought that the rest would agree with him, or at least Neji would since he seems to share the same sensibility he did. However, as he moved closer to Sakura to take her from the rock, Lee instinctively moved in front of her, effectively blocking his way. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in annoyance and narrowed his eyes at the boy, while Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

"I am sorry, but I do not trust you enough to take care of Sakura's safety after what I have seen." The lack of the "-chan" appellative conveyed his seriousness. Sasuke's eyes narrowed even further at him.

"You think I can't take care of her?" Sasuke asked indignantly. He tried not to display his rage on his face. He absolutely _hated_ being told that he was incompetent.

"I truly believe that you are strong enough to protect her, but the question is whom she'll need protecting from." Lee said, his voice never losing its solemnity.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" Naruto asked as he looked between the two boys and scratched his head. "And Sakura-chan's on our team, Centipede Brows!" He cried. However, his protests fell on deaf ears.

"Lee," Sakura said as she laid a hand on his shoulder, "it's fine. Don't worry about me." She said, flashing him a smile.

"But…Sakura-chan-" He started. However, Sakura cut him off by bringing her face closer to his ear.

"It's okay." She whispered. "I trust him."

Lee looked ambivalent, despite her reassurance. He looked to Neji for assistance, even though he knew what his rival's verdict would be. After all, he was not very fond of Sakura.

"I do not advise that she stay with us instead, since the exam rules clearly state that each individual has to succeed or fail with their squad. However, considering how worn out both the Uchiha and the loudmouth look and how incapacitated Haruno is, it would not be wise to leave their team alone." Neji said hesitantly as a dark look took over his face.

Sakura did not miss how the fist by his side clenched and shook as he said that. Both she and Lee looked up at him in shock, not recognizing that as normal behavior for the brown-haired boy. It was obvious that he was against the idea of their teams collaborating; he, like Sasuke, had a dominant mindset, after all. There had to be another reason for him to think that they should stay together, since he obviously believed that his team was capable of handling themselves.

Was he…trying to help her?

No, that could not be it. She could tell by how he regarded her that he still saw her as a weakling. Perhaps for some reason regarding his need to fight Sasuke.

"If I may interrupt," A voice said as a figure appeared out of the bushes. "perhaps I can lend some kind of assistance." Emerging from the underbrush was the person they had met at the beginning of the exam, the one that had given Sasuke and Sakura a wary feeling: Yakushi Kabuto.

Neji's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" He asked coldly.

"It does not really concern you who I am. What matters is that I know Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan." Kabuto said, his gaze shifting towards the two named individuals. "And you must be Naruto-kun." He directed towards the blonde.

"Believe it!" Naruto shouted in glee, happy that someone acknowledged him instead of just Sasuke all the time.

"What kind of assistance are you willing to offer?" Sasuke asked suspiciously. There was no way to be sure if he was trustworthy, and from the premonition that he had gotten before, there was a high chance that he was not.

"Well you see, I already have both of my scrolls." Kabuto said as he held them up. Naruto seemed to visibly deflate at this. "I was on my way to the tower when I had lost track of my teammates, and I ended up stumbling upon you. If you would like, I could point you in the direction of the tower. Hyuuga-san and his team can go ahead since they seem to be in full health, and I can stay behind with Sasuke-kun's team and help them locate a scroll as well as reach safely."

"Why should we do that? You have somewhere to be and we wouldn't want to slow you down." Sasuke said with a skeptical raise of his eyebrow.

"Please do not mistake me for a threat." Kabuto said as he fixed his glasses on his face. "I already have two scrolls, so it gives me no benefit to deceive you. Think of this as a part of our alliance. We are, after all, from the same village, so it is crucial that we work together." Kabuto finished with a smile.

Sasuke turned around to look at Sakura, silently asking her what she thought. When she shrugged her shoulders, he turned his gaze to Neji, who faced the ground with his eyes closed.

"I think we might as well take you up on that. It makes no sense for us to stay here when we already have the qualifications needed to finish this exam." Neji said. Lee looked like he wanted to protest, but Neji walked over to him and said lowly, "Put your team before anyone else, Lee." Lee turned towards Sakura, who gave him a smile and a nod of her head.

"Go." She mouthed quietly, patting him on the shoulder. Lee still remained skeptical of the decision, but he decided to abide by her wishes. He stood up and his team readied themselves for departure.

"Excellent. Just go this direction for another eight miles or so and you will reach your destination." Kabuto said, pointing to the left of them.

Neji nodded in acknowledgment to his help and turned towards his team. "Let's go." He said before disappearing, not sparing Team Seven another glance. Tenten, a little more aware of her mannerisms, bowed to both Kabuto and Team Seven before rushing after her teammate. Lee glanced at Sakura one more time before locking eyes with Sasuke, silently threatening him to not hurt Sakura. Sasuke did not seem intimidated and only narrowed his eyes in response. After a small stare down, Lee disappeared as well.

"Well, now that that's settled, we should be on our way as well." Kabuto said. However, he stopped in his tracks when he noticed Sakura struggling to get up from her spot. "Ara, Sakura-chan? Would it be alright if I took a look at your wounds? They seem to be still bleeding despite the fact that they are not completely recent."

Sakura concluded that Kabuto seemed to have some kind of medical experience. She would be more than happy to show him, since although she hated to admit it, Neji was right when he said that she might get an infection from her wounds. Even if he was not to be trusted, she needed someone to give her a prognosis before something irreversible happened.

After her internal debate, she nodded her head slowly. Because of this decision, Sasuke and Naruto immediately went closer. Naruto stayed close in case Sakura felt any pain and needed to distract her, since he was oblivious to the tense atmosphere that the new arrival created. Sasuke, however, watched Kabuto like a hawk as he started to unwrap Sakura's bandages. If he made one move against his teammates, then he would attack.

"This is pretty severe. I wonder what happened to put you in this state." Kabuto thought out loud as he examined her foot, which still seemed to be bleeding a little. Sakura just paled at his inquiry, choosing not to answer. "Your ankle seems to be not only fractured, but also seriously dislocated, which is where the blood is coming from. I can relocate it for you, but it's not going to be a pleasant experience." He said truthfully.

Sakura just nodded her head, knowing that she would face even more dire consequences if she kept putting the healing process off. She took in a shaky breath before tapping on Naruto's arm, silently asking him to hold her hand. Naruto did so without question and let her lay her head on his shoulder with her eyes tightly closed. Sasuke continued to watch Kabuto.

Kabuto lightly grabbed her foot before a green aura started to form around his hands. Sakura immediately felt some relief in her limb, but the pain was not completely assuaged. Naruto just stared at his glowing hand in wonder. "Okay, I'm going to count to three and then relocate it." Sakura nodded in understanding, her eyes still closed. "One…two…" Before he even hit three, a sickening crunching sound resonated through the forest as Sakura's foot was snapped back into place.

Sakura let out a pained whimper, but because the process was less painful than she had imagined, she was able to contain the screech she wanted to let out. Afterwards, she watched as Kabuto reached into his pack and drew out a fresh bandage, securely wrapping it around her foot and carefully setting it back on the ground and helping her put her sandal back on.

"Thank you." Sakura said shakily, squeezing Naruto's hand for comfort. With his other hand, he patted her shoulder to congratulate her resilience. Kabuto nodded in acknowledgment.

"What was that technique you performed? Are you a medical ninja?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, not really. I know the basics, but I cannot heal wounds such as yours completely. You will have to see a proper medic when you get to the tower." Kabuto said, directing his last statement towards Sakura.

Kabuto did a quick examination of her shoulder before he proclaimed that he was finished. Sakura asked Naruto to help her stand up, and she made sure to put all of her weight on one foot while leaning on Naruto for support.

"Now then, it would be best if we made our way to the tower. Keep watch for anyone who may have your complementary scroll." He said, standing up and dusting off his hands.

"Alright! Come on, Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he bent down for her to get on his back. She was just about to do so before she looked at Sasuke's face. He still remained stoic, but there was something about his expression that was so unsettling. His expression conveyed a degree of hurt, or as much hurt as Uchiha Sasuke is capable of expressing.

Sakura laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder, shaking her head. "It's okay, Naruto. You're still not up to your full strength." She said. She turned to look at Sasuke. "Sasuke? Do you mind?" Sasuke seemed to hesitate at her request, possibly out of surprise by her decision. However, this only lasted for a second before Sasuke recovered. He gave her a curt nod before not-so-gently pushing Naruto out of the way so that Sakura could climb onto his back.

If that was two months ago, then Sakura would be jumping for joy and would probably faint before she even got onto his back. More importantly, Sasuke definitely would not have allowed it. However, Sakura felt the need to show him that although she knew what he had done, she still trusted him. If the team did not have that basic principle, they were going to fall apart. The trust between her and Naruto was already stable, but shunning Sasuke out of fear would only widen the gap between them.

Sakura made sure not to lean too much on him because she did not want to disrupt his personal boundaries. However, before the team took off again, she bent her neck close to his ear and whispered a few words. Words that had a more profound impact on him than she would have thought.

"I trust you."

Sasuke showed no evidence that he had even heard her, and simply adjusted her on his back before walking over to Kabuto. Naruto, who looked at them with a pissed off expression on his face, trudged behind, grumbling to himself. Seeing his deflated state, Sakura reached over and lightly bonked Naruto on the head.

"You can carry me half way." Sakura appeased. Naruto's mood immediately brightened at this as he shot her his signature knucklehead grin.

"Hn. You sure you want to be dropped?" He asked her mockingly. Sakura gave him a swat on the head, making him almost drop her.

"Looks like _you're_ the one who's going to drop her, teme! I swear if you do, I'll give you a large knuckle sandwich." Naruto threatened. Sasuke looked at him, unimpressed.

"Hn." He grunted condescendingly. He looked over at Kabuto, who signaled that they should follow after him. With that, both Kabuto and Sasuke disappeared into the trees, interrupting Naruto's long rant.

Sakura smiled at the interaction between the boys. They acted as they usually did, but there was a certain bond between them that had grown stronger from just being on a team together. She hoped that she also shared a bond with both of them like that. For a moment, she reminded herself that through all of the new experiences, they were still a team, and nothing had really changed.

That thought faltered when she looked down, seeing the three black tomoe on Sasuke's neck.

 **Hi everyone! I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter! What do you guys think about the "Inner" conflict that Sakura is having? XD**

 **...Sorry...I'll shut up.**

 **Anyway, I really hope that you guys like where the story is going. Please leave a review down below with any constructive criticism or general comments that you have because they are extremely appreciated.**

 **Question for you guys: How was your Christmas and what is your New Year's Resolution (if you believe in that)?**

 **I hope you guys have an absolutely** ** _fantastic_** **day wherever you are! Stay warm if you're up North and cool if you are in the South, and have a very Happy New Year! See you guys next time!**


	14. Too Soon to Rest

**All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

It was safe to say that Team Seven and Kabuto arrived at their destination with barely any time to spare. Out of all of the teams that were able to obtain both scrolls, they were the last to arrive.

The team got the Earth Scroll when they encountered a Rain shinobi in the forest. It was a difficult fight, considering Sakura was out of commission and could not be left on her own. Sakura could not help the feeling of uselessness that crept back to her, so she told Sasuke to let her down on her one leg so that his agility would be increased. Although she had become a liability to Naruto, who had stayed by her side the entire time, she made sure not to slow down the rest of her teammates by watching Naruto's back.

When they had reached the tower, Kabuto was immediately swept away by his team, who castigated him for getting separated and taking so long. Naruto and Sakura thanked him fervently for his help, since they probably would not have fared as well on their own. However, Sasuke remained quiet, his suspicion about the fellow leaf ninja never fading. He had no idea what it was, but it seemed as though it was all too convenient that Kabuto had been there for his team while they were in a fragile state.

He decided to drop it for the moment, but he would definitely be keeping an eye on him.

"Come on, Sakura-chan! Let's go finish this God-forsaken task!" Naruto exclaimed in glee as he ran inside the building.

"Naruto, wa- he's gone." Sakura sighed in defeat as she put her hands on her hips. "We should go too, Sasuke." Sakura said. Sasuke grunted in agreement. Sakura moved towards the door, but stopped when a searing pain shot through her foot. She winced and cursed internally as she unconsciously shifted all of her weight onto her other leg.

Sasuke shook his head at her. "Your foot hasn't healed yet. Don't try to walk on it." He ordered harshly. Sakura huffed indignantly at his rude attitude. She was about to tell him that she was fine and that she just had to be careful with the way she walked; however, Sasuke interrupted her, "Don't give me something about how you're fine. That Hyuuga said that your foot was fractured, so did you honestly think that you would be able to walk on it right away? I thought you were smarter than that." He said.

Sakura's mouth hung open, both from the audacity of the insult and the fact that Sasuske had said so many words in one sentence. Sasuke just sighed in aggravation as he moved in front of her and knelt down.

"Get on. Hurry up." He said coldly. Sakura made no retort as she quickly climbed onto his back, afraid that another argument might cause them to miss their deadline.

"Hey…Sasuke?" Sakura said nervously.

"Hn?" Sasuke grunted back.

"You may be a harsh jerk sometimes, but I really appreciate what you're doing." Sakura said sincerely.

Sasuke continued walking without looking at her. "…Whatever." He said dismissively. However, this only made Sakura grin.

* * *

It was a huge surprise to the three of them that it was Iruka who had greeted them at the end of their exam, and not their current sensei. It brought back a lot of nostalgia to see Iruka again, since he had been with her throughout all of her younger years. She knew that he was primarily there to see Naruto, since they shared the closest bond; however, just the sight of her Chūnin sensei was enough to put a smile on her face.

Iruka led them towards the others, letting them know that they had made it just in time. Iruka directed Sasuke towards the medical center to drop off Sakura before they started. He gave Sakura his best wishes for a speedy recovery, because she would truly need it.

Sakura raised her eyebrow at this. She knew that the third exam would not start for another month, so did that not give her ample time to heal?

Sasuke deposited her on one of the beds in the infirmary, giving her a curt nod before he made his way out of the room. Sakura just shook her head at him with a faint smile. She could tell that he was slowly warming up to her, and while she was not pretentious enough to think that he considered her a friend, she hoped that he at least considered her an ally.

Sakura fidgeted on her hospital bed as she waited for the doctor to see her. She did not want to miss the announcement, so she wanted someone to see to her as quickly as possible and give her a prognosis. She clenched and unclenched her sweaty fist as she tried to assuage her anxiety that seemed to be growing by the second. Even though she had been there for less than five minutes, she felt that it had been an eternity.

A muffled groan from the other side of the room interrupted her thoughts. Curious to see who her roommates were, she cautiously propped herself up on her elbows, careful not to aggravate her deep shoulder wound that seemed to have opened again. What Sakura saw made her eyes widen. On the two beds right across from her were the two shinobi that she had fought in the forest, Dosu and Kin. The groan had emitted from the male, while the other just laid completely still, as if the life in her had already passed.

Sakura dropped back onto her bed, trying to contain her anxiety. It was apparent that Dosu heard her, and positioned himself so that he would be able to look in her direction. However, that was when Sakura noticed that he not only had bandages on the bottom half of his face, but the top half as well, with only a sliver of flesh exposed so that he could breathe.

He truly looked like a mummy. Alive, but not actually. Undead.

She had made him like that.

Sakura quickly wiped her tears from her face as she heard two nurses come in, and she quickly flipped onto her side so that they could not see her face.

"…not be able to participate?" She faintly heard one of the nurses say.

"Yeah, from what the doctor says, this one sustained too much optic nerve damage to continue. It would be a miracle if he was ever able to see again." The other nurse replied. Sakura felt her heart crack as tears threatened to fill her vision once again. "The girl is just unconscious for now. Although she lost a lot of blood from her neck wound, she will live."

"So…will their third member be able to participate, considering his two teammates are down?" The first nurse asked.

"Hm…" The second nurse contemplated, "I think so. The rules say that if any of the members die, then the whole team is disqualified. However, seeing as though neither of them died, their team should still be legitimate. However, I don't think either will be able to participate." Sakura could not help letting out a breath of relief. She had not caused anyone to die, and they were both going to be (relatively) alright. However, that did not change the fact that she had blinded a man. The guilt, once again, began to eat at her.

 ** _I told you, you did what you had to. Even if you did kill them, you're not a monster._** Inner said, reluctantly trying her best to console her conflicted host.

 _No! What I did was barbaric! I'm a murderer! I'm a killer!_ Sakura screamed inside her mind.

She could feel her callous Inner roll her eyes. **_First of all, no one died, so calm the hell down. Secondly, how are you supposed to be a true shinobi if you can't accept that you have to kill people that are trying to harm you and your friends?_** Inner let out a sigh, trying her best to calm herself. **_Look, I_ am _you, so I know that you already know this at the back of your mind._**

Sakura closed her eyes in shame.

 _ **Not wanting to believe it just makes you weak. No matter how much physical strength you've attained, your mind is still that of a weak, naïve little girl.** _Inner taunted. Sakura raised her hands to her head and clutched it tightly.

Sakura almost screeched in fright when she felt pressure on her uninjured shoulder, and immediately shot up. This, unfortunately, severely agitated her shoulder wound, and she had to lay back down in pain.

"Calm down, sweetheart. Everything's going to be alright." One of the nurses from before, who had noticed her small episode, cooed as she tried to smooth down Sakura's unkempt pink locks. She then turned around to look at the other nurse. "Go get the doctor." She ordered.

"No need." Another feminine voice said as she entered the infirmary. "I can take a look at her."

"Sh-Shizune-san!" The nurse next to her squeaked. Sakura opened her eyes to see both of the nurses bowing towards a figure that she could not see. She heard heels tap against the concrete floor as the newcomer drew closer. She could tell just by the reception that she got that the woman was a person of great importance, and Sakura could just feel a stronger presence as she walked into the room.

When the figure finally reached her bed, Sakura turned her gaze away, not certain if she could look directly at someone of such high regard.

"Oh? Is the little one shy?" The woman called Shizune said in a fond tone. "Don't worry, I'll fix you right up."

It was then that Sakura looked up at one of the most beautiful women see had ever seen. Her appearance was simple, yet very refined. She had short-cut black hair and dark eyes, and although those features could hold a frightening level of malice, they instead held kindness and humility. The strange thing was that in her arms, she held a pig, who Sakura at first thought was a stuffed toy. Shizune put the pig down on Sakura's lap and circumvented the bed to come to her side. It was then that the pig oinked and settled itself in Sakura's lap. She felt a little uncomfortable, but she let the small animal stay.

"Now, let's see here." Shizune said as she started to unwrap the bandage placed on Sakura's shoulder. "What's your name, sweetie?" Shizune asked her, still focused on her wound.

It took a few moments for Sakura to process the words of the beautiful woman talking to her. "Oh, uh, Haruno Sakura. It is a pleasure to meet you." Sakura said. She would have bowed if she did not know that it would mess up Shizune's meticulous work.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Sakura-san. My name is Shizune." She replied. "Well, this certainly looks fixable. You must have gotten in a nasty fight to sustain wounds like these." Shizune said. While Sakura wanted to feel proud at the pseudo-compliment, she could not help looking solemnly over at the Sound shinobi at the other side of the room and grimacing. Shizune noticed her downcast expression and followed the younger one's gaze. She then turned back to work without saying a word, which was exactly what Sakura wanted.

Shizune placed her hand on Sakura's reopened wound, and Sakura immediately felt her pain wash away with the influx of chakra that the older woman gave her. Sakura leaned against the backrest of her bed and closed her eyes as Shizune worked on her. Before she knew it, the sensation was gone, and Shizune had lifted her hand from Sakura's shoulder before making her way to the foot of Sakura's bed to check on her foot.

Sakura immediately looked over at her shoulder, trying to detect the bleeding gash that had been there not even a minute ago. To her surprise, the only thing that she could see was a small scar where her body's tissue left a small depression. She then slowly turned her head towards the amazing woman before her. Was this the extent of medical ninjutsu? Sakura felt herself become drawn in by the sheer magnificence of the technique and precision.

Despite this revelation, Sakura was doubtful that Shizune could fix her fractured foot as easily, and the older woman's conflicted face affirmed her thoughts. She just hoped that her foot would heal by the end of the month, when the third part of the exam took place.

Sakura's train of thought came to a halt as she felt Shizune's hands hover over her ankle, again pumping that euphoric energy into her. This process took a little bit longer than the first, but when Shizune was done, Sakura felt absolutely no pain in her foot.

"Well, I think that does it. Stand up for me, Sakura-san." Shizune said as she gestured her up. Sakura immediately complied with her as she sat up. She then gently swung her feet to the side of the bed and cautiously stood up on her uninjured foot. She then took the chance at lowering her other foot, expecting to feel some sort of pain. However, she was absolutely astonished to find that she could rest her foot down on the floor without any difficulty.

Shizune looked at the younger girl in amusement as she started to jump up and down on her newly-healed foot, a grin stretched over her face. As Shizune continued to look at her, she smiled at the exuberance and reverence she showed. She had not seen someone so engrossed in the process of medical ninjutsu in a while; not since she had left the village with Tsunade. In a way, Sakura reminded her of herself when her mentor first began to teach her.

"I think that's all you need me for, then. Please be careful, Sakura-san. Even though I healed it, please don't try to put too much stress on it, and check back into the clinic every few days to make sure that everything is alright. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to prevent a certain someone from spending all of her money on booze." She said with a huff as she picked up her pig and made her way to the door.

"Shizune-san!" Sakura called out, making the older woman stop and turn towards her. Sakura then bowed lowly out of respect. "Thank you so much!" She said, trying to convey all of the appreciation that she had for the gesture. Shizune just smiled back and waved goodbye before she exited.

"Amazing." One of the nurses said when Sakura straightened up. "Fractures are almost impossible to heal in such a sort amount of time. Tsunade-sama's apprentice is truly incredible." She said as she clasped her hands together. Sakura looked at the nurse because she said a name that sounded very familiar. However, Sakura could not put her finger on who "Tsunade" was at the moment. Sakura decided to just brush it off, instead looking intently at her recovered foot.

The ability to heal comrades when injured. That was definitely a skill that Sakura wanted to have.

* * *

Sakura made her way to the other survivors of the second exam, but was surprised to find them in some sort of uproar. She quickly struggled to find her team in the commotion, finally catching a glimpse of yellow spikes and an audacious shade of orange somewhere towards the front.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out, trying to get his attention in spite of all of the noise around her. It took her a few more times of calling his name before he noticed her and pulled her out of the mob that almost ran her over. "What…what's going on?" Sakura asked, out of breath.

" _Apparently_ , more people than expected made it through the Forest of Death. So, they are having a preliminary round to weed out a few of us." Sasuke bit out. It surprised Sakura that Sasuke would be so reluctant to fight since he always seemed to want to display his power. He just seemed exasperated at the moment.

Sakura focused back on the conversation. "You're kidding me." Sakura blanched. That was why all of the adults were wishing them a speedy recovery from their injuries. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. She definitely did not want to do another exam, especially directly after the last one.

Naruto looked downright pissed at this, as did almost all the other Genin in the room. Even Sasuke looked annoyed, deviating from his regular stoic face and indifferent disposition. However, once Sakura took another look at his neck, which he sporadically clutched in slight irritation, she immediately understood why he felt like that. Whatever was on his neck bothered him. She still was not too sure what it was, but she knew that it could not be good.

"Sasuke…" Sakura started, her eyes never leaving his neck, "have you talked to any of the adults about that thing?" Sakura asked as she motioned to it. Naruto, interested in the fate of Sasuke's strange mark, turned towards him in curiosity. Sasuke gave a characteristic scowl at the newfound attention. He dropped his hand and shrugged them off.

"There's no need. It's not hurting." Sasuke said, but both of his teammates could tell that he was blatantly lying.

"Teme, listen. Not that I really care what happens to you or anything, but just go get it checked out so you don't end up transforming into a snake or something." Naruto said, his arms crossed.

"Naruto's right, Sasuke. You really need to get that examined." Sakura implored. However, the Uchiha was indignant and refused to relent.

"I'm fine." He hissed in defiance. Sakura immediately shut up at his stern tone, while Naruto mentally cursed him for his harshness. "If I ever hear that any of the adults know about this, you'll both be dead to me." Sasuke said as he regained his composure and stalked off. Sakura's face held a conflicted expression as she watched him leave.

She felt a pain in her chest after his dismissal. She had thought that they were actually becoming friends, and she could notice the slight change in his behavior towards her. However, whatever happened in the forest seemed to have erased all of the progress she made with him.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan." Naruto said out of the blue, as if he could read her thoughts. She looked at him in surprise to see that he was staring right at her with a smile on his face. "He may be a bastard, but he's just trying to hide his emotions. He'll warm up to our greatness eventually. Even he isn't _that_ slow." Naruto said as he put his arms behind his head. Sakura smiled at him. She always seemed to forget that even though the two of them were on each other's backs most of the time, Naruto ans Sasuke understood each other better than anyone else.

Sakura chuckled. "You should talk." Naruto did not seem even mildly offended by this.

"Everyone settle down." A small, frail voice said, trying to calm the commotion. A cough sounded directly afterwards. The only reason Sakura was able to hear such sounds was because she was in the front. This was supported by the fact that the ruckus did not calm down, even after his announcement. The man in the front, who looked very sickly and tired, tried once more to gain their attention, but to no avail.

It was then that Anko showed up once more on the main floor, looking at all of the roused Genin with disgust. "Shut the hell up, you maggots!" Anko yelled in her frustration. The whole room went silent after that due to the Genin's fear that even the slightest noise would provoke her anger. "Now listen to your proctor so we can get this damn thing over with!" She exclaimed with a huff. "Continue, Hayate-san." She said monotonously before she disappeared.

"Congratulations on completing the second exam." The man croaked, his statement ending in a cough. Sakura immediately felt a pain in her heart, hoping that the man was alright. "My name is Gekkō Hayate, and I will be your proctor for the next exam. What you see behind me," he said as he pointed towards the monitor on the back wall, "is what is going to determine our matches for the preliminary round. However, because there is an odd number of you…" Hayate started, but he was cut off.

"That will not be a problem. If the exam is henceforth individual, then I forfeit." A voice said to the right of Sakura. Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at the form of Kabuto, who had his hand raised.

"Are you positive?" Hayate asked, coughing afterwards. Kabuto nodded in affirmation, confusing everyone else on the floor. "Very well. You are welcome to stay if you want, but you are not required."

"Of course." Kabuto said as he bowed slightly and made his way off the floor.

"Wha-Kabuto! What are ya doing!?" Naruto yelled after him. Sakura cringed at his volume, but did not say anything to silence him. Even she was wondering about the answer.

"Sorry, Naruto-kun. My body is worn out from all the stress that it's taken. If I fight now," Kabuto said, flashing Team Seven a nonchalant smile, "I'll surely lose." He finished before disappearing off the floor, leaving Naruto and everyone else speechless.

 _Something doesn't feel right._ Sakura thought as she stared at the spot where Kabuto was once in. She turned her gaze towards Sasuke, who caught it and nodded, affirming that he thought the occurrence was strange as well.

Hayate's raspy voice brought their attention to the front once again. "Well, now that that's settled, please make your way to the balcony so we may begin the first match." He ordered softly.

The Genin did as they were told. When they all got to the second floor, they saw that all of their senseis were waiting for them, with Kakashi standing at the very end of the railing, his face literally glued inside his bright orange book.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura yelled as they ran towards him. He raised his head, with minuscule irritation, to look at his cute little Genin that he had not seen in five days. He looked at the appearance of all three of them. All of them were battered and bruised, but they still seemed to have energy in them.

"Ara, hello you three." Kakashi said as he raised his hand in greeting. It was then he noticed that Sakura's hair was not its usual length. "Oh, Sakura-chan. I see you had gotten a haircut in the forest." He said as he took one of her shorter locks in his hand. Sakura grinned sheepishly.

"A lot of things happened in there." She said simply.

"I can see that." Kakashi said with amusement. "Sasuke." The said boy raised his head, finally looking focused on them. Sasuke raised his eyebrow. Kakashi leaned forward and whispered something in Sasuke's ear, out of Naruto's and Sakura's hearing range. The two looked at each other in confusion as they saw a smirk stretch itself across Sasuke's face. Before either of them could question anything, a blonde blur attached itself onto Sasuke's arm.

"Hey Sasuke-kun!" Ino said, hanging onto Sasuke. Irritation and dismay was evident in Sasuke's eyes, and Sakura and Naruto had to try to stifle their laughs. Even Kakashi seemed to chuckle slightly.

"Leave me alone." Sasuke said coldly. Ino complied with his commands, but only because Hayate had announced that they were going to start.

"Best of luck, Sasuke-kun!" Ino said with a giggle. She then looked towards Sakura and Naruto, who had finally gained their composure after the hilarious spectacle. She stared at them for a moment, mostly at Sakura, before she shook her head with a small smile. "Naruto, Billboard-brow…do your best." She said with a nod as she ran off to join her team.

Naruto's eyes widened considerably, while Sakura just stared after her with curiosity, a smile slowly creeping onto her face. "Thanks…pig." She said softly, even though she knew that Ino could not hear her.

Kakashi looked between his pink-haired student and the blonde who had just made her exit. "Have I missed something, Sakura-chan?" He asked.

"That's what I want to know." Naruto grumbled. Sakura's smile then transformed into a grin as she ruffled his hair, assuring both him and Kakashi that it was nothing.

A sound was heard throughout the building, and all the occupants turned to see that the board on the wall was randomizing their names. All of the Genin and their senseis waited for the first names to be called. Finally, the board stopped.

 **Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akadō Yoroi**

"Damn!" Naruto whined, seeing that the first match did not have him in it when he was just itching for a fight.

"Next time, Naruto, next time." Sakura consoled. She then looked at Sasuke, who was rolling is shoulders and preparing to go to the battlefield. "Sasuke," She said, drawing his attention. Sasuke looked at her, which let her know that she had his attention. "Good luck." She finished. Sasuke nodded his head in thanks. Sakura nudged Naruto lightly in the ribs to get him to give his regard to his teammate.

Naruto scowled and rubbed the part when Sakura stuck her elbow. "I hope you don't lose, teme." Naruto muttered. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the blonde before he jumped down to the first floor. "Man, hardest thing I've had to say in my life." Naruto added afterwards. Sakura just laughed.

They watched as Sasuke walked into the middle of the room, with Yoroi, one of the members of Kabuto's team. Sakura could not see the whites of his eyes because of his dark spectacles, making him look more devilish to her. She felt a shiver ride up her spine by looking at him, giving her the chilled feeling that Kabuto had. There was something about his team that was just so odd. Despite the help he had given her team, his self-dismissal from the exam was much too bizarre to be overlooked.

The opponents stood in front of each other, facing each other with the same indifferent persona and determined eyes (at least, she thought Yoroi's eyes were determined). Hayate looked at both of them before coughing again. "Are the two of you ready?" Hayate asked. Yoroi curtly nodded and Sasuke simply got into a fighting stance. "Very well. Match One, begin!" Hayate said before jumping back to prevent being caught in the crossfire.

Both of them started with their weapons, with Yoroi throwing shuriken and Sasuke countering with a kunai. Before Sasuke knew it, his opponent charged at him, his fist flared with chakra.

Sakura silently urged him to use his Fire Release, since it would effectively combat a close-range opponent. However, Sasuke remained still except for his hand that reached up and clutched his neck. He looked to be in slight pain, but quickly brushed it off and tried to stay focused on the battle.

However, despite his quick recovery, that slight distraction made him vulnerable to the hand that descended onto his face. It looked as though Yoroi was hoping to crush Sasuke's skull in his hand. Instead, it clutched Sasuke by the temples, and the chakra that surrounded it glowing wider as Sasuke screamed in pain.

Sakura had to cover her mouth to prevent agasp. She watched as Sasuke fell to his knees before Yoroi finally let go, towering over him like a master to his servant. It was obvious that Sasuke was severely weakened by whatever his opponent had done to him, but he still seemed to have enough energy to jump out of his enemy's range.

 _Sasuke, what are you doing?_ Sakura thought as she unconsciously bit her nails. _He's a close-range attacker. Why aren't you using your jutsu?_

 ** _Maybe he can't._** Inner commented. Sakura internally urged her to continue. **_Look, he's doing it again._** Sakura focused once more on the battle in front of her, watching as Sasuke clutched his neck in pain. And, once more, he removed his hand immediately and pretended that nothing had happened. **_It's that weird mark on his neck. That must be why he isn't doing anything._**

 _But…does he know anything about the mark? Has he seen it before?_ Sakura asked.

 ** _The chances are that he hasn't. But, I know you have a suspicion as to who does…_** Just as Inner said this, Sakura looked in the direction of her sensei, who was pensively observing the battle.

Her thoughts were broken by another pained yell from the boy in question. Sakura pursed her lips together as Sasuke fell to the ground, this time struggling to get up.

"What's wrong, Uchiha? Is this the limit of the Number One Rookie this year?" Sasuke received a sharp kick to the ribs. "Pathetic." Yoroi said condescendingly as he readied his hand to go in for another strike to his chakra flow.

Sakura wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to refuse to watch the spectacle of her friend losing the battle. However, her conscience stopped her.

 ** _If you close your eyes, you're giving up on him. Are you going to do that?_**

 _…No._

As if her resolve was enough to give him some of his strength back, Sasuke quickly swept his feet under Yoroi's legs, making the latter fall to the ground. This only bought Sasuke enough time to get out to the range of his opponent once again, since he needed to store up the strength needed in order to carry out an attack. He could not risk losing any more of his strength.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as Sasuke had saved himself once again. She took the brief period of inactivity to scan the room at the other competitors that seemed to have an eye out for Sasuke. If Sakura was not mistaken, she saw much disappointment among the faces she looked at. Clearly, they had expected something more out of the last Uchiha. However, it was obvious that they knew nothing of the situation.

"Sasuke-teme!" A loud yell sounded through the room, making Sakura cover her ears to save what little hearing she had left. She looked over at the loudmouth blonde who had the audacity to yell at his rival in the middle of his match. Sakura knew that she would be lucky if she didn't go deaf over her time spent with him. "What the hell are you doing, ya weak bastard!? Is that all the Uchiha clan can do? You're making Sakura-chan and I look bad!" Naruto exclaimed in a manner which Sakura believed was supposed to be encouraging.

Sakura could see a vein pop on Sasuke's head from Naruto's outburst. Slowly, a grin etched itself onto Sakura's face.

There was no harm adding a little fuel to the fire.

"Come on, Sasuke. Stop trying to run away and just kick his ass already!" Sakura encouraged. Suddenly, all of the attention got directed to her, and she could not help the insecure tendencies that were slowly creeping back over her. She tried to ignore them in order to achieve her purpose. It was not about her; it was about Sasuke.

She could see that their tormenting had gotten through to him, if the prominent scowl on Sasuke's face was any indication of his annoyance. He chose not to say anything and just glare harder at his opponent. He would most likely give them the cold shoulder after he was done, calling them "loud" and "annoying". However, Sakura could see how his resolve was renewed by their taunting, and that was what they hoped for.

"You're little friends are irritating." Yoroi said as he readied himself in an offensive position.

"Aa." Sasuke said in what Sakura could assume was agreement. Instead of being insulted, Sakura's grin only grew.

Once again, Yoroi came after him with the intent of finishing the battle. Yoroi did not have the same kind of agility that Sasuke did, but that was almost useless if there was not some kind of jutsu to go with it. If her suspicion was correct, and Sasuke could not use any of his chakra, then he could only rely on his taijutsu to win the battle. However, with so little strength, there was not much that he could do.

At the last moment, it seemed as though Sasuke had thought up a plan, signified by the small smirk that Sakura detected on his face before Yoroi closed in. In the split second before Yoroi's hand could enclose itself around Sasuke's head, Sasuke ducked and kicked Yoroi into the air, sending him airborne. Sasuke then appeared on top of him, using the gravitational momentum to slam his leg right into Yoroi's face. "Lion's barrage!" He yelled.

Sakura's eyes widened at the display. She had seen that technique before, although it was much different from Lee's, in a way that was almost familiar.

 ** _Idiot._** Inner chided. **_That's_ your _technique. He must have been conscious at the time you were fighting those Sound assholes._** Sakura's mouth dropped open at the realization. She looked over at Lee, who looked at her at the same time in an equal amount of shock. Sasuke had never fought him before, so there was no way that he could copy such a technique from him. That meant only one thing:

 _Sakura-chan had done that move._ Lee thought as he felt tears well up in his eyes at the progress of his student. She had managed to pull off a technique without opening, nor knowing much about, the Eight Gates.

He truly could not have felt prouder.

Sasuke made a few more strikes at Yoroi before he allowed his opponent's unconscious body to fall to the ground. Sasuke fell to the ground as well, less gracefully than he had intended. For a moment, both of the combatants laid motionless on the floor. Sakura began to worry whether her teammate would even get up at all.

"Come on, bastard. Get up." Naruto silently said as his fingers twitched on the railing. Sakura could see frustration evident in Naruto's face; she knew that Naruto did not want Sasuke to lose to anyone besides him.

After a few moments of no movement, Hayate was about to call the match a draw. He stopped short when he saw a twitch from Sasuke, who slowly rose to his feet with great difficulty. It was obvious that he did not have any more strength in him to fight, but he was still the conscious one.

Hayate coughed during this interruption. "Since Akadō Yoroi is unable to continue, the victor is Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto and Sakura erupted in cheers as Sasuke's victory was announced. Sasuke tsked as he simply stuck his hands in his pocket, looking towards the balcony at his overzealous teammates. He caught Sakura's gaze and they stared at each other for a few solid moments. He then gave her a little nod, which, in Sasuke's language, was a way to convey his gratitude. After that, he broke their connection and started to make his way back to the second floor, trying to conceal the slight shakiness he had in his step.

Kakashi had gone down to help him, even though she doubted Sasuke would let him. She was about to go down to congratulate him herself, but she was stopped when she felt a hand on her head. Sakura shyly turned herself to gaze at the person beside her, only to see Lee standing there with his gaze towards the Uchiha below.

"Well done, Sakura-chan." Lee said as he shifted his gaze towards her. The hand on her head ruffled her hair a bit before resting on her shoulder. "I cannot convey to you how proud your work has made me feel. Thank you." He said expressively.

Sakura could feel tears well up in her eyes at his praise. She did not even question how he knew about the move that Sasuke had copied. She swallowed a deep breath to keep her will strong and the emotions down. "No Lee, thank _you._ " Lee just looked at her and smiled; the usual melodrama that accompanied him was missing. He used his bandaged hand to wipe a stubborn tear from her eye before departing for his own team, the smile never leaving his face.

Sakura rubbed her eyes a few times to get rid of any trace of her emotions. She could not help but feel elated at the praise she had gotten from someone she respected so much. To think that after all of her hard work, she was finally able to do something right, able to do something that benefited another person. There was truly no better feeling.

"What was that about, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he swung his arm around her. Sakura looked at him and shook her head.

"It's nothing, Naruto." She said, gaining the strength back in her voice. "I just couldn't ask for a better mentor, or better friends than you guys." Naruto still seemed to be confused, but he just nodded, knowing that her emotions were complex and not something that could be put into words. Sakura shook her head at her own vagueness, but could not find the words to describe how she felt without being mawkish.

Kakashi and Sasuke appeared on the balcony a few seconds later, with the former as a form of support. Sasuke, who was barely conscious, scowled and protested that he did not need any help, but Kakashi did not relent.

"I'll be taking Sasuke somewhere, you two. I probably won't see you for the rest of the matches, so good luck to you both." Kakashi said ambiguously. Sakura and Naruto looked at each other, each of them already suspecting what their sudden departure was about.

"Can you get that thing off his neck, sensei?" Naruto asked seriously. In the background, he could hear the randomizer on the screen going.

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. "So you two know about it?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, yeah. I hope you don't mistake us for teammates that would ignore when one of our own are hurt." Sakura said as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah, and I saw some snake lady bite him on his damn neck!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura quickly motioned for him to lower his voice, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention.

Kakashi gave a sigh. "I have a way to help him, but I need to start the process immediately." Kakashi replied solemnly. "Is it alright if I leave you two now?" Kakashi asked. The two Genin nodded in affirmation.

Before Kakashi disappeared, Sakura called out to her teammate. "Sasuke," Sakura said as she leaned down in order to look him in the eyes, "I know this might not be the right time to mention it, but I just want you to know that Naruto and I will never live down the fact that you didn't deny that we were friends to Yoroi." With that, Naruto burst out laughing, almost toppling himself over. Even in his weakened state, Sasuke sneered at them, but said nothing.

Kakashi shook his head bemusedly at his Genin before proceeding to disappear. Both Sakura and Naruto thought it best to focus on the next match, since worrying about Sasuke would not do anything for him.

"Man, I hope I'm next!" Naruto said as he started to hop from one foot to the other.

"I don't think so, sport." Sakura said as she pointed at the board. Naruto looked at the direction she was pointing in and immediately deflated, laying his head on Sakura's shoulder in exasperation.

 **Temari vs. Yamanka Ino**

Sakura looked over at her once-rival. Ino was being prepped by her team, given encouragement and the like. In the end, Ino nodded and proceeded to walk down to the bottom floor. Temari, the blonde girl with the humongous fan, did the same, but with a determined smirk on her face.

Sakura stared at her as she made her way to the battlefield. There was something about her that was so unsettling; about all three of the shinobi from the sand, really. She had never actually seen them in action, but if their condescending looks were any indication of their true strength, then they were going to be hard to beat.

"Good luck, Ino." Sakura whispered, knowing that the intended recipient would not be able to hear.

Sakura heard a crunch beside her, and turned her gaze towards her teammates. Apparently, they all seemed to be having the same kind of thoughts as her on Temari. Chouji tried to calm his nerves by eating them away while Shikamaru and Asuma were watching the battle intently.

Temari and Ino faced each other, with the former looking indifferent towards the latter's display of determination. Sakura could tell that the dirty blonde almost wanted to yawn.

"Are the two of you ready?" Hayate asked.

"Ready." Ino said, her headband, for the first time, going around her forehead. Sakura's eyes widened at the significance, before smiling. Hopefully Ino's conviction was enough to get her through this.

"Yeah." Temari said flippantly, readying the gigantic fan behind her.

"Then, the match may begin." Hayate said as he jumped back.

"Your move first, doll-face. I insist." Temari said, motioning her to make the first move. Ino's eyes narrowed, and she knew that it had to be some sort of trap. However, she could not let her chance pass up.

Ino jumped to the side and threw a handful of shuriken at her. Temari stood where she was without fear of the weapons. When the shuriken were about to reach their target, a slight blur, which was barely visible, engulfed Temari for a split second. The next thing everyone knew, Ino's shuriken laid on the ground next to her opponent as if their aim had been the floor instead.

"Really? Is that the best you can do?" Temari asked mockingly. Ino stared at her in shock, not knowing what to say.

"This isn't good." Shikamaru said as he rubbed his forehead. For once, he was not complaining about what a drag the situation was. It was more than crucial that it ended quickly. From what Shikamaru could deduce, the longer the battle dragged out, the more injured Ino would be in the end.

Ino quickly launched into her next attack, flipping back to the other side while flinging a kunai at her target. Temari looked at the projectile with a bored expression before the same phenomenon happened. The kunai planted itself in the ground next to Temari, and said girl looked at it before rolling her eyes.

"Temari." A raspy voice said from behind her. She did not turn around, but Sakura could see how her body tensed up at the voice, as if she was scared. Sakura looked at the speaker on the other side of the balcony. It was the redhead, the one with the Kanji symbol for 'love' on his forehead. From what she could see, he was anything but loving. "Stop playing around and finish her." He said coldly.

Temari nodded erratically, making Sakura raise an eyebrow. Her persona had completely changed by a single instruction by that guy. From what Sakura had heard around from the other Genin, all three people on that one Sand team were siblings. If this was true, why would she be so afraid of her own sibling?

"Time to end this, girly." Temari growled out, opening her fan slightly so that one large purple circle was showing. It confused Sakura as to why she would only open it that much, considering there must not have been a lot she would be able to do with that little surface area.

Ino knew for herself that whatever her opponent was about to do was inevitable. So, she did the only other thing she could think of: she tried to Mind Transfer.

"Ino! Don't do it! You have to be around another person!" Shikamaru yelled, genuinely concerned. However, his warning was not registered by Ino.

Ino set up her hands to complete the Mind Transfer. She knew that if she was successfully able to transfer into Temari's mind, then her body would be safe because there would be no other enemy around.

Nevertheless, Temari was not going to allow her to make a move. Her brother said that he wanted her to finish the match quickly, and she saw to it that she would.

Before Ino was able to cast her jutsu, Temari swung her fan towards her. "Wind Release: Sickle Weasel Technique!" She yelled as a slicing burst of wind knocked an unsuspecting Ino into the air. The gust of wind seemed to hold Ino in the air for a few minutes, cutting into Ino's skin and making her release a grueling cry of pain. Afterwards, the wind disappeared and Ino began to fall to the ground.

Before she could hit the ground, however, Temari calmly walked up to the spot where she was supposed to land and stuck out her fan, catching Ino's body over it. A sickening 'crack' vibrated throughout the room, and Ino coughed up a little bit of blood.

Ino was unconscious, and the match was over.

Hayate walked up to the pair, not looking at the body that was slung over the giant tessen. "Because Yamanka Ino is no longer able to battle, the victor is Temari." He rasped.

A malicious grin spread itself over Temari's face. "I knew it." She said with a dark chuckle. "Nothing but a doll." She mocked Ino's unconscious body.

Sakura's eyes widened as Temari did not immediately let Ino down after their match. Instead, the Sand kunoichi threw Ino across the room. Sakura did not know exactly what happened or how her body moved the way it did, but before she knew it, she was down on the ground floor, catching the human projectile that had enough force to tumble her back ungracefully.

Sakura's grasp loosened around the motionless body that she was holding, quickly sitting up and trying to assess her friend's wounds through her tears. "Ino…Ino!" Sakura said as she tried to shake her awake.

"It's no use, pinky." Temari mocked. "I'll be surprised if she isn't permanently paralyzed from the strike she took to her back."

Sakura began to hyperventilate as she saw the color drain from Ino's face. She kept shaking the blonde softly, trying to rouse her, even though she knew there was nothing she could do.

"Sakura." A voice said from above her. Sakura looked up to see Asuma hovering over her before he bent down. Sakura allowed him to take Ino from her, her hand immediately taking its place over her mouth to prevent her sobs. Asuma immediately disappeared, knowing that a medic was needed immediately.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled as he jumped down to the ground level. "Come on, we can't be here." Naruto urged, even though he was glaring just as ferociously at Temari as Sakura was.

"My my, what a scornful eye you have." Temari said as she looked at Sakura. "It's pitiful, really. Your eyes say one thing, but your tears convey your true weakness." She placed her fan on her back. "You'd do well to remember that it's dangerous to wear your emotions on your sleeve. If you don't, you may end up in a worse situation than the blonde." Temari sneered. Sakura shook with anger for her friend, but chose not to say anything.

Hayate took this moment to step in before things got ugly. "Please clear the field for the next match." He said. Both sides scowled at each other before they obeyed their proctor's commands. When Sakura and Naruto arrive on the top floor, Sakura saw that only Shikamaru and Chouji were still at the railing, both looking downcast.

"Naruto, can you tell me what happens in the next match? I need to check on Ino." Sakura said. She didn't wait for an answer before she turned around, but she stopped when she bumped into a larger wall of green.

"I do not believe that that is a smart idea, Sakura-chan." Lee said as he pointed behind her. Sakura slowly turned around.

"Will the next two opponents please come to the center?" Hayate said as he motioned to the board. Sakura looked at it.

 **Hyuuga Hinata vs. Haruno Sakura**

It was finally her turn.

 _ **-Special Message Below-**_

 **Hi guys! I really hope you enjoyed this extra-long chapter! Please leave a review if it is to your convenience. If you have any comments or constructive criticisms, I am more than happy to read all of them!**

 ****I especially want to know if you guys like the interventions between New Inner and Sakura. Do you find the switch between regular text and bold to be hard to read? I personally found it fine, but I really want to hear from you guys. Also, if you have a problem with it, I would be more than happy to take suggestions.  
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 **Also, I've decided to do a special shout-out for all of those who've reviewed starting from the last chapter because it means so much to me that you guys have taken the time out of your day to write something for me. All of the support that you guys have given me has been so, so appreciated, and I really cannot thank you enough.**

 **Shout-outs to: ErifStarTK, medistr, Shadow, just me, Emzy2k11, Shy911, the classified words, jennythegreat123, Ymae12, and Hanaeru! Thank you all so much for reviewing and giving me your feedback!**

 **A very special Shout-out to** **RavenReichenbach for writing such a long and thoughtful response and letting me know what I'm doing well and what I should watch out for. I am truly so appreciative that you took the time to write all of that! And the situation you talked about is very familiar. I hope this story does not turn out like that :)  
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 **With that, I hope that everyone has a fantastic day wherever they are! See you guys next time!**


	15. Fight of the Unfated

**All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

If Sakura's sweaty palms and her labored breath were any indication of her fear, then she most likely looked like a wuss at that moment.

Not optimal qualities of a shinobi.

Lee and Naruto had given her a pep talk, telling her that she would win and that her youthfulness would give her immense strength. Sakura did not have the wit to comment that youth was not in the question since Hinata was the same age as her, and since she was from a prominent clan, she was probably a great deal stronger than her.

She had never actually seen Hinata fight. When the kids of the academy still had their sparring days, she had been so focused on Sasuke that she ignored everyone else. She knew that Hinata was timid, since she always used to seclude herself to a corner, taking furtive glances at a certain blonde. Sakura thought that Hinata was adorable, and she had an inkling that the girl was quite intelligent. Sakura never imagined that her first conversation with the girl after years would be before a match.

Sakura made her way towards the stairs that lead down to the bottom floor. Hinata had taken the same way not long before, since they were on the same side of the balcony. As she continued down the hallway, she heard small voices become amplified. It was coming from halfway down the staircase, which Sakura could see from the top floor. She knew that whatever the two individuals were talking about was none of her business, but she could not help but hear a few words from a certain white-eyes asshole that sparked her interest.

"…your destiny is not in the ninja world, and neither is hers. If you win this battle, it will mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. No matter who is ultimately the victor, neither of you will make it to Chūnin. That is just how it is." Neji said from below her. Sakura peaked down the stairway. Hinata looked conflicted, opening her mouth and closing it as if she was afraid to speak what was on her mind. In reality, she probably was.

"B-but, Neji-ni-san…" She tried to start, but her speech devolved into incoherent mumbles afterwards. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the boy, incredulous that he would even think of demeaning her right before her match. She had no idea whether he was truly Hinata's brother or just someone else from the clan; however, what she did know was that there was some unspoken tension between the two.

Neji let out an exasperated sigh. "Hinata-sama, you are only going to get yourself hurt later. Perhaps you will win this battle, since you both share similar destinies and one of you is destined to lose, but you will not make it through the people who have already passed the preliminaries. It is best to just forfeit while you are ahead so you do not end up hurt…"

"That's enough!" Sakura screamed, not wanting to hear any more of his nonsense. She jumped directly from the top floor, where she was watching, to the stair next to Hinata. Hinata looked stunned by her appearance, and she could only guess that even though he did not show it, Neji was as well. "Who the hell do you think you are, huh? You're her family! You're supposed to encourage her to do her best and fight with everything she has! What kind of idiot tells someone that they are destined to lose? Hinata is fully capable of winning if she puts her heart and soul into it, and she doesn't need your goddamn opinion about what is 'best for her'." Sakura finished, gasping for breath at her long monologue.

The girl with indigo hair looked at her in astonishment. Never before had anyone stood up for her against Neji, since almost everyone in her clan knew of her weakness, even as a member of the head family. She grimaced about the thought of what Neji would say next. She knew that Sakura could not have known much about the affairs of her clan, otherwise Sakura would not have talked the way she did. However, she could not help but feel touched that Sakura had deemed her worthy enough to stand up for.

Neji looked positively furious at the pink-haired girl before him, the naïve little child that had the same foolish mindset as his cousin. It did not matter what he or she said, since everything was already predetermined by destiny. Nothing she said would change the future from happening.

"You know nothing of our family, so it would be best for you not to speak as such. Do not think you have any right to interfere when you are nothing more than a failure yourself. I am simply trying to protect Hinata-sama from the defeat that she will inevitably face. Don't feel so inclined to protect someone else when you can barely look after yourself." Neji said harshly. Sakura's eyes narrowed further, and it was if a spark appeared between the glares of her and Neji.

 ** _You've done all you could._** The deep voice resonated in her mind. **_You don't have anything more to do here. Take Hinata and leave._**

 _But, I can…_

 ** _Idiot,_** Inner Sakura groaned with disdain, **_he will obviously not listen to reason. Show him. Prove to him that even a failure can win a battle._** Sakura internally nodded her head, knowing that her Inner was right.

"Come on, Hinata-san." Sakura said with a small smile in her direction. Gently grabbing Hinata's arm, she guided her down the dark hall towards the battlefield, never sparing another glance at the older male behind her. Hinata followed without hesitation, never dragging behind for a moment.

"S-Sakura-san." Hinata's small voice vibrated. Sakura had to strain her ears to make it clear that she had said something.

"Oh, yes?" Sakura said, a little embarrassed at the pause she had taken to make sure that she had actually said something.

"…Thank you." She said, her voice dropping to nothing more than a whisper.

Sakura smiled and shook her head. "It's nothing. Just try your best and leave the rest!" Sakura said enthusiastically. She then inwardly cringed at how cheesy that sounded. She heard Inner snicker in her mind, and it took everything within her to keep her from yelling at her mind out loud.

That would be even more embarrassing.

Whether Hinata let those words fly over her head or she just was not inclined to look into the saying, Sakura did not know. However, she was more than happy that Hinata did not comment on it.

Sakura and Hinata appeared on the field of battle together. As the approached the center, Sakura took the side that had her back facing Naruto while Hinata stood opposite to her. Hayate stood equidistant from the two of them, looking at the determination on both of their faces.

"Come on, Sakura-chan! Win this one for us!" Naruto yelled from the balcony, jumping up and down without any mind to decorum. Sakura rolled her eyes but turned around and waved back at him as a tacit promise to do her best. When Sakura turned back, Sakura saw that there was a small frown spread across Hinata's face as her shoulders slouched insecurely.

Sakura sighed before putting her hand on Hinata's shoulder. Hinata almost jumped in shock, but managed to remain steady. Sakura's smile grew as she shook her head. "Ignore him. He's cheering me on because I'm his teammate. If you were against anyone else, then he would be on _your_ side." Sakura said softly. Hinata's face turned red, but nodded anyway. She could not allow herself to faint before the battle even started. She gave an appreciative smile to Sakura before the latter backed up.

 ** _You don't have to console her, you know. She's the enemy right now._** Inner remarked with disdain.

Sakura scowled at her conscience. _Have some sympathy, would you? Hinata's my friend._ Inner clicked her tongue, yet said no more.

"Are both sides ready?" Hayate received two nods. "If there are no objections to the match, you may begin." He said as he jumped back to get out of their way.

Neither of them attacked immediately. Both tried to assess what the best approach to the fight was. Hinata took her stance – one similar to the one she had seen Neji in when she sat in on his battles with Lee – however, it looked uncertain and underdeveloped. While Sakura might have used this to her advantage, she did not know all of the weaknesses of the technique so she might put herself at risk.

She could feel a pair of white eyes from the balcony burning holes into her back, just waiting for when she would screw up and lose. She could not hear Naruto anymore, whether that was because he actually stopped cheering or her senses became acute to the situation in front of her, she did not know. What she did know was that she had to take care of Hinata fast or she would become prey to the powerful Hyuuga techniques.

"Byakugan!" Hinata said, startling Sakura a bit. She saw as veins started to spread across Hinata's temples and stop just short of her eyes. The clear pearl orbs that she once had become focused, more intense. There was no true way to describe what Sakura saw. She had read much about the Hyuuga dōjutsu before, and knew the gist of what it did. This knowledge scared Sakura, since all of her power relied on her ability to quickly summon chakra to her points. Since Hinata could see all of them, she would have the upper edge at predicting Sakura's moves when she tried to store up chakra. She had to be extra careful.

Just as a safety precaution, Sakura gathered her chakra into her feet. When she saw the blue aura emitting from Hinata's hands, Sakura could tell that she was preparing her first attack.

"Best of luck, Hinata-san." Sakura said as she reached her right hand into her weapons pouch.

"S-same to you, Sakura-san." Hinata stuttered, though never losing her determined expression.

No words were exchanged afterwards.

In a daring move, Sakura pulled out a kunai from her pouch and used the propulsion she had in her feet to push herself backward. She flung the kunai towards her opponent, who hesitated slightly at the appearance at the flying projectile. However, she refused to jump out of the way, and took it straight on. Before Sakura knew what happened, her kunai was out of Hinata's course with her bare palm in the way. Sakura had no time to marvel at the hidden ability that Hinata had shown, for she was preoccupied trying to think of a strategy.

 _Both of us are close-range fighters, and I cannot do much jutsu outside of the basic few. I will have to rely on my chakra control if I am to have any advantage._ Sakura internalized.

Hinata took the next stride forward, drawing her flat palm back and getting ready to imbed it within her stomach, which would surely throw off her balance for the rest of the match.

Just as Hinata approached, Sakura bent her knees a little, readying herself for her next move. When Hinata's arm came within Sakura's range, she quickly flipped back onto her hands and caught her palm within her two legs.

"Leaf Whirlwind!" Sakura cried as she spun as fast as she could on her two hands, noting the difficulty with the added weight of a body. She then let go of Hinata's arm midair and stopped her spin as she watched Hinata ascend into the air before falling to the ground. Hinata, graceful as always, landed cleanly on her feet and summersaulted back to retain her balance. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief that she was able to deflect her attack. One hit to the chest and it might have been over for her, since that was the main chakra pathway in her network.

Sakura and Hinata took their stances again before they shot themselves towards each other.

* * *

"Come on! You can do it, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, oblivious to the fact that his cheers did not affect her while she was trying to focus on the battle. He thought that the speed that Sakura was showing was incredible, and he could see how prolific Bushy Brow's training had been compared to a few weeks ago when she first started her transformation. Naruto gripped the railing as he licked his chapped lips that were dehydrated after cheering for so long.

The fight between the two before him was the most interesting one out of the three, and he could not help but admit that both of the girls seemed sufficiently strong. He placed his bet on Sakura, as always, but he could not help but admire that Hinata seemed to be a strong adversary. He had never noticed before how strong she actually was. He always thought she was just the antisocial oddball at the back of the class that suffered from mild strokes too much. She had one whenever he saw her, at least.

"Quiet down, Naruto. You're going to distract her." Someone interrupted him from behind before he shouted another word. Naruto whipped around to see Kakashi standing next to him, watching the battle with interest.

"When did you get here, Kakashi-sensei!?" Naruto said as he pointed an accusing finger at his teacher. Kakashi sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Your lack of observational skills is a tenacious worry of mine, Naruto." He stated bluntly. "Besides, I wouldn't want to miss the match of my favorite student." Kakashi said as he crossed his arms.

"Wah-Why am I not your favorite?" Naruto said, offended.

"By favorite, I mean the one that gives me the smallest headache and actually listens to me instead of complaining or brooding all the time."

"I know that rules out Sasuke, but what about _me_?" Naruto asked as he motioned to himself.

Kakashi grabbed the top of his head harshly and turned it towards the match. "Just be quiet and watch." Kakashi deadpanned. Naruto looked like he wanted to protest, but he definitely did not want to miss anything about Sakura's match.

Kakashi watched as Sakura and Hinata engaged themselves in a taijutsu battle. Sakura played defense, as she was still unsure how to attack a weak point of her opponent. Kakashi knew that the Byakugan almost had no weakness when it came to perception, so Sakura would have to think of a plan quickly in order to avoid being eliminated herself.

Kakashi looked down at Sakura and smiled at how much she had grown since she first began her change. It was not just her strength or her physical appearance that had changed, it was also her mindset. Sakura seemed to understand what a shinobi had on the line going into a fight, having gone through almost a life-threatening experience while in the forest.

Indeed, Kakashi saw her battle against the three Sound shinobi – part of it, at least. He could not help the urge to run out there and help her, since seeing her struggle made him think of his own past, and the girl who resembled his little student so much that it pained him to look at her at times. However, he knew the rules, and just clenched his fists and waited patiently. He watched the gruesome sight before him as Sakura struggled to hold her ground, and ultimately almost killed two out of the three.

Sasuke seemed to have handled the other one due to his new power. However, Kakashi made sure to take care of that.

"Wahoo! Go, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled as he jumped from one foot to another jovially when Sakura made a swipe under Hinata's legs and made the latter flip backwards. Sakura seemed to be more comfortable with taking the offensive stride, which would be crucial for the battle.

"I wish you would please be quiet and let the rest of us watch the battle in peace. Your yelling is childish and unbecoming." A voice chided from his left. Naruto scowled as he turned towards the source of the voice – the only person he might hate seeing more than Sasuke.

"Whaddya say, teme!?" Naruto yelled at the white-eyed boy, making Tenten, who was next to him, wince at the volume.

"I said that cheering her on won't do anything for her, other than perhaps distract her. Do you think your motivation truly means anything to her victory in this battle? Fate has already predetermined who will win this battle, whether you cheer for your teammates or not." Neji replied coldly. Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow at Gai's "prodigy", witnessing for the first time the idealism that his rival was talking about. However, it seemed that Neji's disposition seemed to pass the mark of idealism, casting itself into something more extreme. Kakashi could not tell what it was, but he could tell that thinking that heritage was everything would only lead to misunderstanding.

He would know. Although not to the same extent as the Hyuuga, he used to think the same way.

* * *

Sakura stumbled as she took another sharp jab to her stomach. Sakura gasped for breath as she tried to manage giving oxygen to her exhausted muscles while trying to dodge the incessant attacks of her opponent. She knew that at least three of her chakra points, all around her stomach area, were already blocked. That spelled big trouble for her, since her ability to manipulate her chakra fluidly was her greatest asset.

 _I never knew Hinata held this much force. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to dodge her attacks._ Sakura said as she and her opponent both took a brief rest due to their exhaustion. Hinata was still in her fighting stance, while Sakura was trying her best not to be hunched over on her stomach.

 ** _Your conscious mind is becoming more adept to sensing her movements, but your body does not react quickly enough. Allow me to help with that._**

Sakura saw Hinata's muscles tense again as she got ready for another attack. _How can you help me?_ Sakura asked Inner quickly.

 ** _Do you think I'm just here for decoration or something, cupcake? I can sense her movements before your conscience even starts to process it. Just listen to my instructions and you'll be able to avoid her attacks and use your own brain power to think of offensive moves._**

 _Alright, I see where you're going with this._ Sakura thought as she straightened her back for another round. _And stop calling me all of these weird names!_

 ** _Hun, you're calling yourself all of these names._** Inner retorted with a snicker. She then said that it was time to get serious, with which Sakura had to agree.

Hinata charged at her again, the determination never wavering in her gaze. She drew her arm back to prepare for another attack, and, just as Inner said, Sakura was not able to perceive quickly enough the position at which her hand would land.

 ** _Move left!_** Inner's voice resonated, and Sakura followed her commands assuredly. Not surprisingly, Hinata's hand just barely missed her torso. Despite the lack of contact, Sakura still felt some force push on where her hand would have impacted.

The momentum that Hinata had put into that attack prevented her from seeing the attack Sakura made from the side. Sakura spun on her heel and delivered a backward roundhouse kick to Hinata's blind spot: her back. The force sent Hinata forward as she gave a small whimper of pain. However, she nonetheless stood up once again, with a little difficulty. Sakura cringed at what she had just done. She truly did not want to hurt her, as she could tell Hinata was in a similar situation. However, there could only be one winner, and they had both worked too hard for either of them to just give up their spot.

They both readied to combat again, but they heard Naruto's cheering come to a halt. Although Sakura might have viewed this as a good thing, the voice that overtook it was what truly irked her.

"…think your motivation truly means anything to her victory in this battle? Fate has already predetermined who will win this battle, whether you cheer for your teammates or not." Both Sakura and Hinata turned to the balcony where Neji's voice came from, disregarding the match for a moment. Neji stared down at Hinata and locked eyes with her, making her immediately avert her gaze. To see Hianta so terrified of her own family was heartbreaking. Sakura could feel her anger rise at Neji, and she could not stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. She refused to cry, not in front of Naruto and Kakashi, not in front of Lee, and _definitely_ not in front of Neji.

"I'm getting really sick of your destiny bullshit!" Sakura intuitively screamed at him, surprising even herself since she was never one to use such coarse language. "What I know is that Hinata and I took a long journey to get here, and I'm not about to let some half-assed fate kiss-up who thinks he can talk down to those who struggle to improve themselves tell _me_ that everything I've done has been for nothing. Who are you to say who we can or cannot be?" Sakura yelled. Hayate looked as though he was about to interfere, but just coughed and let the situation play out.

Gai looked over at Lee before looking back at Sakura with a smile on his face. She not only spoke for herself and the Hyuuga, but also all of those who were not born with the benefit of clan legacy or anything of the like. Gai could see the tears well up in Lee's eyes as he held his shaking fist to his heart, so touched by his protégé. His gaze returned to Sakura. He had a feeling that she had a long way ahead of her, but despite this, she was going to turn into someone great. Much greater than anyone expected her to be. Then again, expectations are not always true. His own father taught him that.

Neji looked like he wanted to retort, but Sakura cut him off. "Once I finish this match, no matter who the winner is, I give you my word," Sakura said as she pointed her finger at Neji, disregarding propriety, "I'll make you see how wrong you are." Sakura finished with a glare, one with the same intensity as Neji dawned.

The tension ran thick in the air as the whole stadium waited for Neji to reply. They had never seen the pink-haired girl so fired up about anything, and to see a new rivalry sprout between her and someone from such a prestigious clan was an interesting development.

Neji calculated a response in his head. Although he would not admit it to himself, he was intrigued by her drive to prove him wrong. It might have been something she had picked up from Lee, but she had a certain audacity about her, one that he could not explain but could not hate regardless.

"I look forward to that day." He mocked, accepting her challenge. A tantalizing smile appeared on Sakura's face as she kept her eyes narrowed.

Kakashi looked between his student and his rival's and could not help but smile at the interesting development. He then locked eyes with Gai, who shot him his characteristic smile and thumbs up. Kakashi sighed behind his mask, but acknowledged his rival's actions with a nod.

A cough broke the tense silence. "Please continue the match." Hayate intervened. Sakura and Hinata both gave him a nod before resuming their fighting stances.

"Show him what you've got, Hinata-san." Sakura said.

Hinata nodded. "Likewise, Sakura-san."

This time, Sakura made the first move. She ran forward and almost delivered a spinning kick to Hinata's head. Luckily for the latter (and partially for Sakura's own peace of mind), she was able to dodge quickly, bending backwards to avoid the hit.

 ** _Jump backwards!_** Sakura did so. She found that even though Inner did save her from the attack, she felt a gust of wind hit her torso because of the momentum of Hinata's palms. Hinata's eyes widened a little, as if perplexed by how Sakura is able to predict her moves and react before they are completely carried out. Sakura would be too if she did not know about the split conscience that she had gotten so used to.

 _Wow Inner, you're actually useful._ Sakura thought, mentally cringing at the jab she had just made.

 ** _What the hell is that supposed to mean?_** Inner deadpanned with a stoic voice, one that the old Inner would have never used. It just occurred to Sakura that if the old one had stayed, then there was no way that she would have made it that far in the battle.

And since Inner is her, then she learned how to save herself. How complicated.

Sakura decided to focus back on the battle, making three other clones of herself and positioning them at each side of Hinata, with her real self behind her. Hinata looked at the four of them, but did not ponder for too long which one was real, because they were more likely just going to come to her.

Sakura had read that the Byakugan should not be able to distinguish between clones, unless you have unequal chakra patterns in each one due to a failed copy. However, Sakura was more than certain that she had split up her chakra evenly amongst the four of them, so Hinata should not know which one she was.

The Sakura in front of Hinata struck first, giving Hinata a sweeping kick, which the latter jumped over. The ones to the right and left of her charged with their fists raised, one aiming for the stomach and one aiming for the neck. Hinata quickly halted the blow to her neck by catching her fist, and delivered a sharp kick to the clone that was about to strike her stomach before she gave a Gentle Fist to the chest of the other one. She turned around, since she knew that the last one had to be the real Sakura.

Sakura, while Hinata was occupied with her clones, gathered as much chakra as she could in her feet and sprung herself forward. She sent one kick to Hinata's torso, hoping that it would have some impact. Unfortunately, Hinata caught it and made one, painful jab to one of the chakra points in her shin. Sakura gritted her teeth at the pain, but refused to let that stop her attack. Sakura then lifted her other leg, becoming airborne for a moment, and kicked Hinata square in the jaw, sending her upwards towards the ceiling.

Sakura regained her balance and jumped into the air after her, appearing above her and delivering a harsh kick to the ground, as she had done with Zaku in the Forest. She watched Hinata hit the ground as she herself fell. Before Hinata landed, she was able to save her head by using her arms. However, all of the pressure affecting both her arms and her back, and she coughed up a little bit of blood in surprise.

When Sakura made her descent, she became very aware of the pain in the spot that Hinata struck. It was not until she landed that she realized that the chakra network in her leg was almost completely blocked. Once again, Sakura would have to fight on one leg.

Hinata struggled to stand up again, coughing up a little more blood before finally staggering to her feet. She held an arm across her stomach, where she had been hit. It seemed as though both of them were at their breaking point. Whoever got the next hit in would be the victor, and both parties were determined for that to be them.

It was time for the final onslaught. Both of them readied their positions, each taking into account their specific injuries. Hinata's hand had to leave her torso in order to revert back into her fighting position. Her hands shook violently, as if she was a fragile glass in an earthquake. However, her gaze remained strong.

Sakura had to elevate her leg a little off the ground, ready to charge forward with the force of one less limb. Even though the chakra connection in her leg had been temporarily severed, she was sure that she could still use it in her next attack. She would have to deliver a kick with the leg that was not injured, so she prayed that her injured one would be able to hold her up. She started to feel the aftereffects of the painful damage she had received to her entire body through Hinata's Gentle Fists. Despite this, she gritted her teeth and bore through the pain.

This was the final stretch.

Hinata rushed forward while Sakura pumped chakra into her good leg to propel her forward. Everything went in slow motion for the two of them as they approached each other. It all caught up to them when Hinata's palm made contact with Sakura's chest, and Sakura's leg made contact with Hinata's stomach.

Both girls were flung backwards with great force, both landing on the ground at the exact same time. Neither of them moved, and the rest of the spectators held their breath to see who would get up first.

Their attention was divided as both girls started to move at the same time. Sakura's fingers twitched as she struggled to bring herself into a sitting position, while Hinata used her forearm to push herself upwards. Both girls seemed to mirror each other's struggle to a certain extent, both passing through the stages of standing up with great adversity. At last, both of them had made it to their feet, so the battle would continue.

They did not stay that way for long.

Before Sakura knew what was happening, she felt a sharp pain in her heart, one so excruciating that it made black spots cloud her vision. She felt blood spurt out of her mouth as she immediately dropped to the ground, holding her chest and laboring her breath.

Hinata was not in a better condition, as the blow she had taken to the stomach had finally taken its toll. With her Byakugan still activated, she painfully turned her head towards her injury, only to see that her whole right ribcage was shattered. Only some of the bone remained merely fractured. She felt a searing pain in her stomach once more before she fell to the ground, blood rolling out of her mouth.

Both girls went unconscious.

Hayate looked at both of the girls, knowing that even if either of them could stand, it was best to call off the match right there for their own safety. "Because neither of them are able to battle, there is no winner for this match." His scratchy voice said.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called at Sakura's immobile form. Kiba did the same for Hinata, but despite their calls, neither of them moved. Kakashi appeared next to Sakura who looked to be barely breathing, while Kurenai lifted Hinata up and examined her damage.

"Medic!" Both Jōnin called simultaneously. Neither of them took time to contemplate this coincidence, because both of their students were in critical condition. Naruto and Lee appeared next to Sakura as Kakashi cradled her bruised head.

He became alerted again when she coughed again, blood splattering all over the floor. Both Naruto and Lee began to panic, but Kakashi was frozen as the scene before him closely resembled his last moments with Rin. She was beaten and bloody in his arms, yet the difference was that Kakashi was not the one to cause Sakura's state. Nonetheless, the pain that the memory brought to him was horrifyingly unbearable. He clutched Sakura's lifeless body a little tighter, as if trying to ground himself that she was still there. He only released his grip when the medics arrived, and even they had to pry him off of her so that they could take her away.

Kakashi watched as the medics rushed both Sakura and Hinata to the ER, taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves.

 _Sakura,_ Kakashi thought as he furtively squeezed his eyes shut so that no one would see his pain, _…I'm so proud of you._

 **Hello everyone! Thank you so much for taking your time out of your day to read this. I really hope you all enjoyed it! Am I the only one that wanted to tear up at the last part? T.T I just love the feeling of a teacher being so proud of his student.  
**

 **Special Shout-outs to everyone who reviewed:** **theclassifiedwords** **(x2), Aztrel, ****Shy911** **,** **DigiXBot** **,** **Eya-Saiyajin, ****Aztrel** **, Emzy2k11, ****Okami Endless** **,** **Ashes** **, , H, and caitlin gressel** **.** **Thank you all so much for your support and your feedback! I want you all to know that everything you say will be taken to heart and will be used to improve my writing so you guys can enjoy it more.**

 **Please leave a review if you have any comments/concerns/questions about the story and I would be more than happy to read and address them. I can't thank you guys enough for all of the support you all have shown me, because I would not be here writing if it wasn't for you guys.**

 **Thank you so much for the 30,000 views!**

 **As always, I hope you are having a fantastic day wherever you are! See you next time!**


	16. For a Friend

**All rights to Naruto belong to Hiro Mashima.**

 **IMPORTANT:** ** **I know a lot of you guys are disappointed that she ended up losing her first match. Please keep in mind that Sakura started her journey only three weeks before the exams, so that is not a lot of time to improve her skills. I hope that this does not give you a bad impression of the story because there is a specific reason that I decided to take Sakura out of the exams, which will be revealed later.****

 ** **Also, I decided to change the name because I realized that I didn't want to use that title in the story anywhere. I felt that this title much more befit.****

She could not tell how long she had been asleep, but she definitely would not mind if it could have been a little longer. As the blinding light came into her vision, she wished for the darkness to return. Sakura groaned and tried to turn herself over, only to experience a searing pain in her chest that rendered her immobile.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, cursing their sensitivity as they shut once again. As she adjusted to the sudden brightness, she took in the sickeningly white walls that surrounded her that just seemed to reflect the sun coming into the room through the window. She may have thought she was in heaven if it were not for the uncomfortable bed and the sharp smell of sanitization.

Sakura coughed a little bit and felt an acrid metallic residue resurface in her mouth. She grimaced at the taste, and wanted to spit it out. Slowly, she tried to bring her body into a sitting position, ignoring the pain she felt. It was then that she realized the wires that were inserted into her body and pumping some substance into her blood to get her to heal. She looked at her bandaged arms and wondered how much damage she had taken in her match. From the pain she was feeling, she could guess that it was quite severe to land her in the hospital.

Her head shot up when she began to hear talking in the hallway, from some very familiar voices. Of course, the boisterous one was hard to miss, but there seemed to be two others that were trying to quiet it down.

Suddenly, the door opened and a blonde stepped through, his shoulder turned to her. "…pissed because you didn't get to see her fight, teme. Stop being such a little broody jerk all the time!" Sakura shook her head and laughed at the blonde's actions, smiling at him even though he had not noticed her yet.

"Stop being so annoying, dobe." Sasuke said as he pushed Naruto, who was blocking the door, into the room. Naruto tumbled into the room, his back still to her, and was about to pounce on Sasuke. Sakura decided to halt her amusement and put a stop to his antics before he got in some serious trouble. She forced a cough, immediately making Naruto turn around and forget his earlier frustration.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled as he ran up to the injured girl. He was about to encase her in a bear hug, but was pulled back by the collar by a taller, and slightly peeved, male.

"Be civil, Naruto. We're in a hospital and Sakura-chan is injured. One touch from you will probably send her into unconsciousness again." Kakashi scolded. Naruto grumbled and crossed his arms with disdain, instead trudging over to Sakura and sitting on the foot of her bed. Kakashi came up to her and settled his hand on her head. "Very well done, Sakura-chan. That was an amazing fight." Kakashi said sincerely.

Sakura looked down at the bandages around her hands, clenching and unclenching her fingers to wake up her nerves. "But…I lost, didn't I?" Sakura asked as she closed her eyes with a shake of her head. She expected nothing more from herself. Of course she would still lose her match, no matter how much she trained.

"No, Sakura-chan! You and Hinata ended in a draw!" Naruto exclaimed as he started bouncing up and down where he sat.

"In fact, both of you were quite relentless to give up. It was incredible to watch, if I do say so myself." Kakashi added with a masked smile.

"Hinata…is she okay?" Sakura asked her sensei.

"Ah…I'm not so sure, I haven't checked on her. From what I hear, she sustained multiple broken bones from the attacks you gave her." Kakashi said.

Sakura nodded, and then looked at the phantom in the room. Sasuke leaned against the back wall, his look aloof but his eyes focused on her. When she caught his gaze, he left the wall and stood next to Kakashi, looking down at her injured form. One might have thought that his gaze was condescending, but Sakura understood the Uchiha well enough to know that his stoicism was just his natural aura.

Sakura smiled at him, but his face remained the same. It took a few awkward moments for him to speak, but he finally did, almost shocking Sakura. "You fought well." He acknowledged, nodding.

Sakura raised her eyebrow. "You saw?" She asked.

"He came towards the end." Naruto said. He then got closer and whispered loudly, "He's really moody because while he was off doing who-knows-what, he couldn't see your match." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I can hear you, idiot." Sasuke chided. He then turned to Sakura. "Most of the battles have already been fought. There's just two left." He informed.

"Wait! Naruto, have you already-" Sakura asked, cutting herself off.

Naruto grinned exuberantly. "Yup! I won my match against Kiba!"

Sakura mouth dropped wide open. "What? And I missed it!?" Sakura groaned in disdain. She then sighed deeply and smiled. "Congratulations, Naruto. I had no doubt in my mind you would win." She said as she pinched his cheek and pulled it a little. Naruto swatted her hand away playfully. "Who else did I miss?" Sakura asked.

"Well, the other winners besides us have been Shino and the guy with the puppets. Hyuuga-teme just finished fighting Choji and won. So there are…" Naruto drawled out, putting his fingers out to count how many people were left.

Sasuke just sighed. "There are four more people left. The next match is about to start soon." He said.

"You guys should go. You never know if you may have to fight the winner of those battles in the future." Sakura said.

Naruto whined. "No, Sakura-chan! We want to stay here with you!" He complained childishly. Sakura looked over at her sensei for help.

"She's right, Naruto. Let her rest." Kakashi said. Sasuke nodded, sparing her one more glance before Sasuke yanked Naruto out of the room by the collar.

"Why do I have to deal with them?" Kakashi asked himself as he rubbed his forehead. Sakura offered him a sheepish smile in condolence. "Send for us if you need anything, Sakura-chan."

"I'll make sure to." Sakura replied as she looked at Kakashi's retreating figure. "Hey, sensei?" She called before Kakashi left the hospital room. Kakashi turned immediately, going back to her side. "Do you think…Neji was right?" Sakura asked, looking down at her hands.

Kakashi pulled up a chair and straddled it from behind. "Why would you say that?" He asked.

"Because I lost, that's why! Neji predicted that I would lose because it wasn't my "destiny" to win, and that's what happened. Am I…just too weak to be a shinobi?" She asked.

Kakashi was silent for a few moments, and Sakura was afraid that he was going to give her a very unclear and vague answer like he usually did. However, that was not what Kakashi intended. "Sakura, do you remember the advice I gave you before you took your written exam?" He asked seriously. Sakura did not have to struggle to remember.

"You told me to not be hung up on trying to prove anything to anyone; I just have to be focused on myself and not worry about what other people think." Sakura replied.

"Exactly. It seems to me that you are preoccupied with proving Neji wrong. Remember this," Kakashi said as he looked her in the eye, "everyone loses from time to time, but it is from our failure that we grow into better people and into better ninja. Your failure is not a representation of who you are. The conviction and drive you showed on the field, is." Kakashi said, reaching over and resting his hand on her shoulder. "I could not be more proud of the way you have grown up in these few weeks. Don't let something like this make you believe in the fate that another preaches. Instead, take it as a driving force to make you try harder."

Sakura took some time to process all of his words. "Thank you, sensei. I can't believe I would even think of agreeing with that pompous ass. It makes me feel rotten inside." Sakura said as she crossed her arms with a look of mock disgust. Kakashi chuckled at her actions.

"Rest. We'll see you after the two matches are done." He said. Sakura nodded in affirmation and waved at him as he left.

Sakura decided it would probably be best to lay her head down and rest again. It did not take long for her to fall asleep because her pounding headache and her body's wish to recover overpowered her consciousness. Before she knew it, she had drifted off.

She was awakened immediately once again by a knock on the door. Sakura did not know how much time had passed between the time she had closed her eyes and then, but it felt like no more than a fleeting second.

"Ah, yes. Come in." Sakura said as she brought herself into a seated position once again. She expected it to be Kakashi, since Naruto would never in his life knock on a door, but she was surprised to find Gai entering her room, a warm smile on his face. "Oh, Gai-sensei!" Sakura said in surprise. She bowed a little, but stopped when she felt an excruciating pain in her abdomen.

Gai immediately dismissed the action. "No need to do that, Haruno-kun." He said as he took the seat that Kakashi had been in previously. "I must say, your battle was very impressive. Your youthfulness had shone greatly through your effort. Lee was more than proud of your accomplishment." Gai commended.

Sakura gave a half-smile. "Even though I didn't win?" She asked.

Gai shook his head. "You must understand, Lee has faced more losses on his youthful road to greatness than he can remember, and he has grown from each of his experiences. The improvement that you have shown is exceptional, even on our standards. So indeed, he is more than proud to call you his student." Gai said.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Even if Kakashi said that she should not gain strength for anyone's favor, Lee was the one person who she never wanted to disappoint. "That makes me glad." Sakura said with a smile. Her head then snapped towards the man next to her in realization. "Hang on, has Lee had his battle yet?" Sakura asked.

"No, it is just about to start. I could tell that he wished more than anything that you can be there. I have cleared it with the infirmary, if you would be so inclined to join us." Gai said.

Sakura's face brightened. "Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world!" She exclaimed happily. "But," she started as she stared at her legs beneath the covers of her bed, "I don't believe I can walk." She said sheepishly.

"Yes, the nurses told me that as well. It will take some time for your chakra network to begin working again. If it is alright with you, I can carry you on my back." Gai offered.

A few weeks ago, Sakura may have shaken her head, disturbed by his rather unique appearance and favoring the idea of rest. Sakura resented those times. Instead, she smiled fondly at Gai and nodded her head, allowing him to carefully pick her up and place her and his back. He was a great deal larger than her, both in build and in stature. Yet, there was something about him that was so comforting. From the way he treats Lee and teaches his students, she could tell that he understands the strife that people have to go to on their journey to improve themselves. The only thing that she respected more than this was his drive to work harder and motivate others to do well.

When Gai and Sakura reached their destination, Lee and the red-haired boy from the Sand – Sabaku no Gaara – were already on the field. There was something about the latter that gave Sakura a bad feeling. She had never seen the boy fight before, but the look in his eyes was one she could read. She saw the look of hate, as Sasuke showed when thought of his revenge; he showed apathy, a look she had received from Neji more than once; and most of all, she saw bloodlust, something that even her own conscience was a victim too. All three of these things made a dangerous combination, and she just prayed that Lee would not succumb to any of these factors.

Sakura shook her head seriously. _No_ , she thought, _Lee would never lose due to fear._ She reassured herself.

Gai led her to her team, who fussed for a little about her being there. She said that she wanted to be there to support Lee and she felt fine. Naruto insisted on picking her up and dragging her back to the hospital, but one menacing glare from Sakura shut him up for good.

Kakashi looked at Gai, and Gai nodded tacitly at his rival. "It is alright, Kakashi. Lee would want me to do this." Gai said. Sakura told him that she should be able to stand if she held the railing. Gai complied and set her on the ground, and waited until she was supported by Naruto and, surprisingly, Sasuke.

"Come on, Lee!" Sakura cheered. Lee immediately whipped around to see that his protégé smiling at him, safe and sound. That took a large burden off of his heart. Lee clenched his fists in excitement. He would fight with the power of youth on his side!

The red's passive expression did not faze him in the least, and he stood in front of Gaara without even a slither of fear on his face. Gaara looked at him blankly, indifferent to Lee's show of exuberance.

Hayate coughed to get the crowd's attention. "The next match will be between Gaara and Rock Lee. If there are no objections, then the match may proceed." He then jumped back.

Lee was quick to make the first move, using his speed to his advantage as he charged at Gaara. However, before he could land his powerful dropkick on Gaara, a wave of sand shielded him from the attack. Gaara remained motionless.

"Whoa…he didn't even move…" Naruto said in disbelief. Sakura bit her lip. She knew that she had to have faith that Lee would win, but there was something so off about the Suna shinobi that she could not deduce.

That did not discourage the Green Beast, for he simply deflected off of the sand before moving over to Gaara's other side and trying again. Gaara's pupil seemed to move with him, but he never flinched. Lee attacked once more, at an unimaginable speed, yet Gaara's sand was able to protect him once again as if the sand was actually alive.

Lee began a barrage of attacks on Gaara, each one being deflected by the sand. Finally, with Gaara's growing agitation for the match to be over, a large sand wave appeared in front of Lee and threatened to bury him under it, but Lee quickly flipped back to safety before it could do so. Sakura saw Gaara's eyes widen, but not from surprise. She did not know what the emotion was, but she could tell that it had something to do with the speculation she had earlier. The one about Gaara's bloodlust.

"There isn't enough…" Gaara said as he weaved his hands through his bloody hair, "there isn't enough…" He kept mumbling. Lee looked at him in curiosity.

"…blood." Gaara finished before the sand zipped towards Lee and grabbed him by the leg, flinging him around before it crashed him into the ground and tried to consume him. However, although Lee was hurt, he still had the strength to pull himself out of the death trap and flip away. It was only then that he felt the strange sensation on the back of his head. He reached behind his head with his hand and retracted it only to find that the bandages around his hands were covered with blood. Lee refused to let this discourage him.

However, his opponent seemed to be drawn to the red liquid, looking at it as if it was the key to his ecstasy. Gaara ran his tongue across his lips as he signified a yearning for the sight of more blood – more pain.

Lee prudently decided that his chances of winning had decreased since Gaara attained that look on his face. Lee knew that Gai had only told him to do what he was doing when it was to protect a large group of people or in a dire situation, but it seemed as though this circumstance befit the consequences. I the next moment, Lee had pulled down his leg warmers and stripped off the weights that encumbered his legs, letting the weights fall to the floor with a large crash, cracking part of the arena floor. He hopped around from one leg to the other, as if it was a foreign experience.

Sakura's eyes widened. She had never seen Lee without his weights; not through the entire time he had trained her. She could not imagine how fast he would be without the weights holding him down.

"Heh. Does he think some measly little weights will-" The guy from Gaara's team started before he was abruptly cut off by the sight of Gaara being flung into the air by a lightning-fast kick to the jaw. It was not long before Lee was in the air with Gaara, kicking him higher and higher until they were almost at the ceiling. Then, she saw Lee's bandages wrap around Gaara like vines before both of them went tumbling into the ground, emitting a large crash. It was the lotus technique that she had Lee train for before.

Lee jumped back from the site where they had landed, panting as his limbs sagged with exhaustion. There was no immediate victory in Lee's eyes because after seeing an opponent like Gaara, there was no chance that he was done.

Lee's speculation was affirmed when a figure aroused in the dust of the crash. It erected like a rag doll being controlled by strings, sagging and moving its limbs as though there were no bones. It did not even look remotely human within the sandy cover that concealed it.

When the dust cleared, the figure became more visible; however, Sakura would not have minded if it did not. The sight before her was frightening: Gaara's skin was completely covered by his own sand. There was barely even a trace of his own pale skin, only the earthy veil that surrounded his body.

"Wha-what in the world is happening?" Sakura asked as she looked at Naruto, but he could not give her an answer since he was struck with the same level of incredulity.

Even Lee's eyes widened by the sudden change, but he refused to be distracted. He readied himself for another move against Gaara, but before he could even take a step forward, he was halted in his tracks. Sakura saw his muscles tense and his jaw clench, obvious signs that he was in serious pain.

Sakura folded her hands in front of her as if she was praying, looking down at him with worried eyes. It would have to be something serious to keep Lee from fighting, since he had once of the highest pain tolerances she knew of.

Gaara pressed his hands together and released a huge wave of sand that headed straight for Lee. She could tell by his look that he knew that it was closing in on him, yet he did not move. Instead, he had been swept away by the sand until he was finally dropped after reaching one of the arena walls.

"Come on, Bushy Brows, dodge!" She heard Naruto scream from beside her as a whip of sand came crashing down upon Lee's shaking body, imprinting him in the ground below him. "Why isn't he moving!?" Naruto frantically asked as he whipped his head from Sakura to Lee.

"…I don't think he can." Sakura choked out, barely above a whisper.

Kakashi nodded in affirmation. "The Lotus technique is not forbidden for no reason. It takes a heavy toll on the body, since it is a Taijutsu form that is purely based on speed and a person's physical capabilities. The amount of pain that he is going through right now has paralyzed his body. I'm surprised he is moving at all." Kakashi remarked as he took a side-glance at Gai, who was looking down at the battlefield with a serious expression.

"Lee…oh no." Sakura said as she saw Lee struggle to get up. He was gasping for breath, trying to relieve the pain in his abdomen and his muscles, but to no avail.

"Lee told me that you had asked him to teach the technique at one point, Haruno-kun." Gai said from beside her. Sakura did not answer and waited for him to continue. "I hope you can see now why he refused."

"Gai, he's going to-"

"No!" Gai yelled, cutting Kakashi off, "If there is anyone who can master this technique, it's Lee." He looked back at his student, who had somehow brought himself into a battle stance. "He has more grit than anyone I have ever seen."

It was then that Lee crossed his arms before his face, as if he was going to shield himself from something. Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow, waiting for something to come out of the boy in front of him. It was not long before a strong burst of wind whisked through the building, all of it emitting from Lee. Veins started to appear above his large eyebrows as the wind got stronger.

"Gai…you haven't…" Kakashi stuttered as he looked at the sight in shock. He was too surprised to even finish his sentence.

Gai's grin was larger than Sakura had ever seen before. "Like I said, Lee is the only one I can trust to do it." The wind became stronger. "Konoha's Lotus blossoms twice."

"Third Gate of Life…open!" A surge of chakra came from Lee as he finally removed his arms from his face, revealing his red skin and his pupiless eyes. Sakura had never seen him in such a state. She had heard Lee tell her about this technique loads of times, and that was why she had asked him to teach her. However, based on the chakra that she felt coming from him, it was a technique well beyond her reach. It was something that she felt that only Lee was able to do.

"It's not over yet." Gai said as he looked at the progress of his student. Neji's Byakugan was activated, watching the battle with intensity. He could not believe that the person before him was actually Lee, the person who had proclaimed himself his rival and had always preached hard work over destiny – the most talentless try-hard that Neji had ever seen.

"Fourth Gate of Pain…open!" Lee yelled as he crouched down further and allowed more chakra to explode from his body. The next few moments were a complete blur for everyone, Gaara included. Before anyone could react, Gaar was suddenly knocked into the air by a supposedly invisible force. However, Sakura knew better. It was not due to any ninjutsu or genjutsu – Lee couldn't use either of those – it was his speed. It had increased a hundred-fold, giving him almost invincible agility.

Gaara was being knocked around like a ball in midair. Sakura's eyes could not even follow how fast his body flew around the stadium as if he weighted no more than a grain of sand. Gaara was finally kicked into the air once more, leaving him to suspend there for a moment as his Sand Shield rushed to protect him. However, it was too late. Lee had already penetrated between the openings of the shield and had gotten himself directly next to Gaara, giving him another swift kick to the chest and sending him deep into the ground below.

There was another loud explosion and dust filled the arena, making everyone cover their eyes. The next thing they knew, Lee had tumbled onto the open ground, completely back in his normal state and barely conscious.

 _There was no way that Gaara should have been able to survive that without being knocked out._ Sakura thought, hope swelling up inside her.

In spite of this speculation, it turned out the be the opposite. While Lee's eyes barely struggled to stay open, Gaara seemed to be quite awake, even in his unfortunate position embedded in the floor. Gaara looked at Lee with such malice that it made Sakura shiver. Lee could not even see it for he was too injured to even move.

Gaara slowly lifted his arm towards Lee and muttered three small, yet deadly words. "Sand Binding Coffin."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror as she saw Gaara's sand attach itself to Lee's limbs, dragging his exhausted body into the air. Gaara's eyes widened with a look of pure mania on his face. He enjoyed the struggle that the boy went through. She saw Lee cry out in pain as Gaara clenched his fist, and in turn, clenched the sand around Lee. Gaara emitted a terrifying laugh as his face started to crack even more. His torture gave him asylum.

Sakura saw as the sand began surrounding Lee's abdomen, crushing it in its process. Tears began to fill her eyes as she looked at her beaten mentor, barely sustaining consciousness. "Stop the match." She croaked out. No one seemed to hear her except Gai. "Stop it! You've already won!" She yelled in a louder voice.

Just before the sand could completely encircle him, it dissipated until just a few granules remained on the ground. Standing between the redhead and the broken boy was Gai himself, his expression downcast as he stared at the shinobi that had brutally beaten his student. Gaara glared at him as though he was about to attack him also. However, he instead retracted his sand until it remade his gourd to its full capacity.

Sakura suddenly got a shortness of breath as she looked at Lee, whose left limbs were severely bleeding behind his bandages. His breathing was scarcely labored and it looked as though it would stop in just a moment. She could not be more relieved that Gai interfered, for if the battle went on for any longer, Lee might not have made it.

"Lee…" Sakura whispered, completely in disbelief. She gripped the steel railing as she felt pain fill her chest. However, she could not bear to look away from the scene for fear that the moment she did would be the last moment she saw Lee alive.

Sakura flung herself onto the railing, only to be pulled back by a pair of arms. "Lee! Lee!" She screamed hysterically as she bucked and struggled against the person holding her.

"Sakura, stop." An authoritative voice said from behind her. She had thought that it was Kakashi holding her until then, but his shorter stature gave away his true identity. Indeed, instead of Kakashi restraining her, it was Sasuke, trying to keep her from hurting herself more than she already was.

Sakura couldn't bring herself to give a damn about who was holding her. The only thing that mattered was that her mentor was on the ground, almost bleeding to death and in an unnatural configuration. "Let me go, Sasuke!" She knew that there were many eyes on her, probably more than were on Lee. She would not let that register in her mind. She didn't care if other people thought she was overreacting or thought that she was being sensitive. She didn't care what _anybody_ thought.

"Sakura, please. Your words won't be able to do anything now." Kakashi said as he tried to place a hand on her shoulder. Sakura shoved it out of the way as she grappled with the dark-haired boy. Naruto stood off to the side, not knowing how to handle the situation.

Sakura refused to say anything. Instead, she gave one final shove against Sasuke, finally shaking him off and quickly jumping off the ledge, out of his reach. Sakura landed on the ground a few feet away from Gaara and Gai, feeling a great surge of pain through her legs and abdomen. She was painfully reminded that her chakra points that had been blocked had not healed yet. Regardless, she limped her way over to Lee's side and dropped herself beside him.

It was then that she saw his eyes, they were half-lidded and turbid, as if he had already passed. She gathered his upper body in her arms, still feeling his faint heartbeat resonating in his chest. She could feel that both of the males on the field were watching her, but she did not look up. Lee winced a little bit and unconsciously moved a little deeper into her chest as a comforting instinct. She took his movement as a sign that he was still with her and immediately clutched him tighter, careful of his injuries.

"We need a medic, now!" Sakura yelled as she looked down at her senpai. Medical shinobi rushed onto the field, extracting Lee's torn body from Sakura. Sakura looked down on the red that stained her rose-colored tunic, struggling to control her own breathing and sanity.

"Why?" A scratchy voice spoke up. Both Sakura and Gai looked at Gaara, who was in a state of confusion at what he just saw. "Why do you care so much about him?" He asked, earnestly. He looked directly at Gai. "He is your subordinate, is he not?" He asked. The cracks on his face had started to heal themselves.

 _What is that supposed to mean?_ Sakura thought to herself, narrowing her eyes at him. Her gaze shifted to the Konoha sensei to see how he would respond.

"It doesn't matter that he is my subordinate. What matters is that I care deeply for him, and that he is someone whom I want to protect!" Gai said emotionally. Gaara's face remained stoic; however, his jade eyes held an emotion that Sakura could not distinguish.

It was odd. As much as she felt that she should hate him, she did not. What he did to Lee was inexcusable, but there was a part of her that wanted to care for him. The questions he asked just further exemplified to her the idea that he was lonely. She had not seen much of him, but whenever she did, there was always someone who feared him. It was true that he had a look of a killer, but that did not mean that he was one. Even if he was (which Sakura would not put it past him), the fear that he fed off of other people would only be a vector for his madness. No one can be sane while being feared. Because of this, Sakura willed herself not to hate; she willed herself not to fear.

 ** _Despite this, you still fear him._** Inner growled. **_I can feel the beat of your heart. Your mind says not to fear him, but your body says something different. You are really no different than everyone else, then._**

Sakura's heart clenched at her words. Inner was her, after all. If Inner thought that, then there was a part of her that thought that also. She could not fool herself with her false idealism. She had to try not to think of her adversities with other people and change her own mentality before she tried to act out her sympathy on others.

Sakura was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she had not realized that Gai had left the field, probably to check on his student. She supposed that Gai thought that she would directly follow, and did not think that she would keep herself on the field. However, her internal conflict had kept her from noticing his absence. In fact, it also kept her from noticing that she had been staring Gaara in the eye for a solid minute.

Emerald eyes widened as the red's jade ones stared into with such intensity that she thought that the room would freeze over. He did not glare at her; his eyes were blank and apathetic. She gutsily kept his gaze as she slowly stood up. She felt the tension in the room rise as they looked at each other. She blocked out all external stimuli as she focused on Gaara, trying to read his eyes as best as she could.

She could tell that Gaara was not used to staring at someone for so long, evident by how she saw sand rise in her peripheral vision. However, she could not bring herself to move. Her eyes remained transfixed on his form. She felt a small sense of bravery as she looked at him. She knew that even if she did get harmed by him, she did not flinch from fear, and she did not give him the look everybody else did.

It was a rare sight for Gaara to not see someone flinch away from him. This girl…someone who lost her own battle, seemed to not look at him, but in him. Her look was a piercing one, but not of hate like he was used to. She seemed almost curious to learn about him. It was as though she tried to understand him better; the girl looked as though she could potentially care for him.

Gaara almost winced at the thought. No, that could not be it. He lived only for himself, he fought only for himself. Some girl would not change everything he had known to be true.

He had gotten over the initial shock of her stagnant stare and decided that he was more than ready to leave the arena. Without moving a muscle, his sand reacted for him, shooting towards her with an amazing speed.

 ** _Don't move!_** Inner ordered, but Sakura did not have to be told so. There was something about the boy that told her that the moment she looked away was the moment she would die. Of course, no one had the audacity she had to look at him straight in the eye in the first place. If she looked away, that meant that she surrendered, and she swore to herself that she would never do that without a fight.

Much to her amazement, the sand shot right past her right cheek, slicing it slightly. Blood slowly trickled down her face and she rose a hand up to touch the penetrated dermis. However, her gaze still never wavered from his.

It was then that his look changed. His eyes reflected a thrill from what he had just done, seeing the scarlet liquid drop tantalizingly down her cheek. A look of derangement overtook his face as he lifted his arm, ordering his sand to turn around behind her. This time, instead of an intention to scare, it had the intention to kill.

This change in objective is what signaled to her that she was actually in danger. Even Inner had not told her to keep put, because if she did, she would surely die.

Sakura did a cartwheel to her side to avoid a spear of sand that penetrated the air where she had just been. She refused to meet Gaara's glare as she prepared herself for another evasion. However, before she could, a piercing screech resonated through the air and a blue flash of lightning appeared in front of her. In the next moment, five different Jōnin, Kakashi included, surrounded Gaara, effectively creating a wall between him and her. Sakura peered into the sliver of vision that she got between Kakashi's and Asuma's elbows to see that Gaara's sensei had whispered something into the redhead's ear. Gaara scowled and shoved him away, making his way out of the examination hall, not even waiting for Hayate to call his win.

Suddenly, Sakura felt her chest start to pain again. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears as it pounded throughout her entire body, as she clutched her chest in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain. She knew that she had to get off the field, but before she could pull herself together, she was lifted into the air and placed on the balcony. A sturdy pair of arms stabilized her before letting go suddenly. Then, in their stead, a warmer pair of arms embraced her.

Sakura opened her eyes to see that the one holding her was Naruto, while the one who had brought her to the balcony was presumably Sasuke. While worry had shown in Naruto's eyes, Sasuke stared at her with an inquiring intensity. She could not help but feel a little uncomfortable.

Sakura took deep breaths in order to rid of the excruciating pain that her heart experienced. "I'm fine boys…really." She said breathily. She tried to stand up again, and to her relief, Sasuke and Naruto did not argue. However, Naruto still kept a stiff hold on her.

"What was that, Sakura-chan!? You could have been killed!" Naruto said as he looked directly at her bleeding cheek. Most of it had clotted due to it being just a small scratch, but it worried him beyond words when she faced off against Gaara.

"Did you see something?" Sasuke asked. Sakura turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "You were staring for a long time, but not directly _at_ him." Sasuke elaborated.

"…I guess I did." Sakura hesitated. "He looked…lonely for a moment. Like when he asked Gai-sensei why he cared so much for Lee." She said slowly, looking at the adults who were still on the field, discussing something. From time to time, she could see them all taking furtive glances at her. "I don't know why…but he reminded me of you, Naruto. When you were younger, that is." Sakura said, not meeting his eyes. Naruto's eyes widened. He did not know whether he should feel insulted or not. "I could just see…so much pain in his eyes. They were the eyes of someone who had been feared their whole lives; someone who had lived all of his years without any love." Naruto looked down and clenched his fists. Sakura looked at him and took his hand, nodding with a small smile.

Naruto smiled and clasped her hand as well, in a friendly manner. She could tell that he was shaking slightly, for a reason that she could not tell. Just like her, Naruto wore his emotions on his sleeve. She could tell that he was troubled by something; something he was keeping from her. She decided to let him have his secret unless it started to negatively affect him.

"Hn. We should go back to the hospital." Sasuke said as he slung one of her arms over his neck, with Naruto taking the other one.

"No, no, no. Boys, really. I'm okay to go back on my own!" Sakura insisted as she struggled slightly against them.

"Shut up, Sakura." Sasuke said softly as he and Naruto continued to lead her down the hall. Sakura gave an exasperated sigh, yet conceded. However, before they could exit the examination hall, they passed by Neji, who spared her a short glance before turning back towards the conglomerate of mentors on the floor.

Sakura had no idea what his look meant. It was not worry, nor was it care, nor was it hate. It was something alike to vexation. She could not make out what he had been so confused about, but it was those eyes that bothered her all the way back to the infirmary.

* * *

Sakura laid in bed for another few hours, just staring at the blank ceiling overhead. She had been thinking about what her teammates would have been doing at the moment. An hour or two ago Hayate might have announced all of the winners together. In that same time, he probably said who they were paired up against for the final match. Sakura smiled at the fact that both of her boys had passed, even if she did not. Her happiness depended on them, and she would just make sure that they got to where they needed to be.

She heard a knock at the door that brought her out of her thoughts. She scrambled to sit up as the door slid open to reveal Kakashi, one hand on his neck and dawning a squinty-eyed smile. "Ma, Sakura-chan. I hope I did not disturb your sleep." He apologized.

"No, not at all. I was awake anyway." Sakura said as she ushered him into a chair. He took the chair and sat down next to her bed. There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Kakashi spoke up. "Sakura-chan…" He started.

Sakura looked at him and smiled. "You're leaving, aren't you?" She asked. Kakashi nodded.

"Yes, to train the boys. I can get you out of here by morning and then we can-" Sakura raised her hand to stop him.

"I won't be coming with you." Sakura said definitively. Kakashi did not look shocked by her response, but his expression looked downcast. "You need to put all of your focus into training them for their next matches."

"But I don't want to leave you behind. We're all a team, and no man is left behind." Kakashi, for once in his life, looked quite insistent. However, Sakura had made up her mind. It was best for her boys.

"Let's face it, Kakashi-sensei. If I went, I would only hold you guys back. You need to put all of your attention on them in order to bring out their full capabilities. I would not hesitate a small separation for their welfare."

"But-"

"Besides, I'm not just going to be sitting on my butt doing nothing. This independence will allow me to understand what it is I want to focus on and hone. When you guys see me again, I'll be a stronger person, and I expect them to be the same." She finished.

Kakashi gave a sigh before standing up. He used one arm to bring her face into his chest, his other arm resting on the side of her arm. Sakura closed her eyes as she sunk into his embrace. He pulled away slowly and squatted down next to the bed.

"You're the only one mature enough for me to trust." Sakura giggled at this. "Are you sure you're going to be okay here? For a whole month?" He asked seriously.

"Yes, I'll be fine." Sakura said. She reached up and took hold of his shoulder. "Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei. You're not abandoning me. I have to leave the nest sometime." She said.

Kakashi chuckled at this. "I guess so." He said as he placed a hand on her head. "I know you'll do well. We'll come check on you in the morning." He said, detaching his hand from her head and moving towards the door. "Sakura," He started before he exited. He turned to look at her with an intense, but kind expression, "I believe in you. Never forget that." He said before he finally left.

Sakura looked down at her hands and smiled; that smile slowly turning into a grin. That was all she truly wanted: for someone to believe in what she stood for.

* * *

The next morning, Naruto smashed her into the biggest bear hug that she had ever been given and begged her to come with them, claiming that he would not be able to survive a whole month around Sasuke without his head exploding if she wasn't there. Sakura gave him a light pat on the head and told her to deal with it.

Then Sasuke gave his regards. He nodded to her simply and asked her if she was sure about staying back. She was surprised at this; if anything, she would think Sasuke wanted her to stay back. But in the end, she just smiled and nodded. He gave a sigh of acceptance and a small grunt.

Kakashi said goodbye to her one last time, not trying to convince her anymore because he knew that her decision was made. She thanked him for that, because it showed that he accepted her resolve to become stronger on her own.

Kakashi had also mentioned that they would be traveling with another person; someone by the name of Jiraiya. Sakura did not have to contemplate the name for long before she realized that he was one of the legendary Sanin of Konoha. Naruto looked at shocked at this fact, giving him the denomination of "Ero-sennin" instead of the respect that he deserves.

With that, the males of Team 7 left to attend to their own work, giving her reassurance that they would be back soon and that they would be ready for the last part of the exam. Naruto told her that he would write to her as often as he could, which made Sakura cringe a little since from her experience at the academy, she knew that Naruto had absolutely terrible grammar. However, a word from him would be more than worth it.

Sakura was released from the hospital two days later, after the nurses making constant checks that her heart would not abnormally stop from the blow it took. Sakura thanked them for taking care of her and left promptly, happy that she would be back with her parents and the comfort of her own bed. However, before she left, she insisted that she saw how Lee was doing. The two receptionist ladies at the front looked at each other and prohibited her from doing so, no matter how much she persisted. When she asked when she would be able to see him, they told her that they would let her know.

So currently, Sakura was taking a run through the village, trying to clear her thoughts. She could not say that she was not just a little disappointed that she lost her match. Of course, it could not be helped. There was nothing she could do to change the past, so it would be best to just give her all into her training.

She felt Inner nod her head in satisfaction. **_That's the attitude I like to see._** She said. Sakura smiled to herself as she continued to run in the direction of the setting sun, a warm orange glow settling itself on her face.

 _You know you're talking about yourself, right?_ Sakura asked jokingly. Inner snickered along with her. _You've started to become a lot nicer, Inner. I thought you would just be a complete bloodthirsty nuisance._

 ** _That would mean that a part of you is a bloodthirsty nuisance. Besides, I was like that because you yourself were too confused with everything that was going on. Like I said before, I evolve with_** **you.**

Sakura dismissed her with a simple knowing thought and focused on the road ahead of her, not minding that the sky was starting to turn from its bleeding red to a deep blue. Sakura stopped near a tree next to the academy. She huffed as she tried to get some air back into her lungs, but kept her eyes focused on an old part of her childhood. She moved around the tree to where a lone swing was hung, swinging slightly in the evening breeze and making a small creaking sound as it did.

Sakura took a seat on it, using her feet to create movement in the rope. She smiled to herself, since it had been a while since she had been connected to anything remotely infantile for a few weeks. No – it felt like longer than that. She had felt that she had just been through a full lifetime before returning back into an adolescent body. She had learned more about herself in three weeks than she had in her entire life, mostly because she was not trying to be Sasuke's "perfect girl" anymore; she was her own person.

Despite her feeling of growth, she knew that she still had a lot to learn before she was able to call herself a true shinobi. However, she knew that she would achieve her goal if she tried her hardest, and gave it everything that she had. That was what Lee would have told her; what Naruto would have told her; and even what Kakashi would have told her. She had a feeling that her loss was not going to be in vain, and that there was something waiting in store for her – a surprise that would allow her to shine to her full potential.

That something might have just come in the form of the messenger hawk perched on the branch above her.

 **Hi everyone! I really hoped you guys enjoyed this extra-long chapter.**

 **I just want to tell you guys that I am so grateful for the support that you guys give me, because it truly makes my day. Please note that I am not planning on sticking directly to the canon. As you will see in the coming chapters, there are going to be certain plot twists that completely diverge from the main story.  
**

 **Special thanks to:** **Aztrel** **,** **zafnak** **,** **Ace Clover** **,** **Hikaru1023** **, Ann, H, and ****quinn . cruise** **for reviewing! You guys truly made my day and I really appreciated your feedback! It is from your guys' reviews that I've crafted the rest of my story line, so I could not thank you enough.  
**

 **Please review! It really helps me get motivated to write more!**

 **And, as always, I hope that all of you are having a fantastic day wherever you are. See you guys next time!**


	17. One Last Chance

**All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Before Sakura could realize what she was doing, she bolted towards the hospital, the scroll from the hawk in hand. She clutched it intensely but refused to let her grip mar the message on it. When she reached the grocery store, she was out of breath from her excitement and her long run. She was about a block away from the hospital, but she wanted to read over it once more, just to make sure that what it said was real.

In neat and formal Kanji, it wrote:

 _To whom it may concern,_

 _If you have received this message, this means that you had participated in the preliminary rounds of the Chūnin exams this year, but failed to proceed to the final round. However, due to Kankuro of Sunagakure forfeiting his spot in the finals, the spot is now open to those in the preliminaries that are in fit enough condition to compete for reentrance._

 _In three weeks' time, exactly a week before the finals of the Chūnin Exams start, you will race to the top of Mount Amano, where the border of the Land of Fire meets the Land of Rivers. You will be required to recover an artifact from the mountain, while trying to keep your other competitors from doing so. The objective is to make it down the mountain with the artifact before anyone else can._

 _This will test your resourcefulness, as no other information other than that supplied here will be given to you. If you do not return with the artifact by sundown, then you will not be able to enter the exam again. This is the final chance._

 _Meet at the edge of the Forest of Death at four o'clock sharp exactly seven days before the finals._

Sakura's euphoria settled when she read the note over again. Even with her extensive knowledge of the geography of the continents, she had never even _heard_ of Mount Amano, and a part of her doubted it even existed. She would also be going up against the competitors of the previous round, all of whom probably want the spot as much as her. She leaned against the convenience store wall and slid down it slowly, as to shrink herself away from the bustling hurry of the street in front of her.

A feeling of doubt loomed like a dark cloud overhead, her hope withering and dying away like the transition between summer and autumn. She would have to fight the people that she thought that she would never have to, and the people that she could not bear to see again.

Oto's team was not disqualified because both Kin and Dosu lived, but she doubted that those two would be in the condition to fight after what she had done to them. However, that still left Zaku. She knew he had been there during the preliminaries, and if what she heard from Naruto was correct, he was one of the people who did not win. That meant that there was a chance that she would face him once more.

Sakura's doubt began to eat away at her conscience as she thought more and more about it. Inner, who had sensed her anxiety and tried to calm her down, was unsuccessful in her attempts. Sakura clenched her eyes shut as she remembered the monster she had become in order to protect herself. There was no saying that she would not do it again if she had to, but she did not think that she would be able to handle such a stress on her mind. But if this was the case, how would she ever become a capable shinobi?

 ** _Hey, stop wallowing in self-pity, because it's really pissing me off._** Inner said sternly as her conciliatory attitude dissipated. **_If you're not going to respect yourself, how can you expect others to respect you also? Think about all you have accomplished thus far._**

 _But-_ Sakura tried to start.

 ** _No buts. It's time for you to realize that it is not the other people that are keeping you from achieving your goals, it is_** **yourself _._**

 _Yeah...yeah, you're right._ Sakura thought as she stood up on her feet with a newfound resolve. _I'm in charge of what happens next, aren't I?_ Sakura thought with a proud nod of her head.

 ** _That's the spirit, champ! Now hurry up and go to the hospital._** Inner said. Sakura grinned to herself and took off running around the block towards the large rectangular building in the middle of the village. **_Oh, and Outer?_** Sakura hummed internally in acknowledgement. **_I want you to know that I am getting sick of these pep talks. Either shut up and move on with life or complain to someone else._**

 _Or what?_ Sakura taunted playfully. It was just an internal battle from then on.

* * *

Sakura finally made it to the hospital, her muscles aching from her long run. The scroll was stashed inside her weapons pouch and she had a small paper bag in hand, with the contents being a container filled with curry pilaf, one of Lee's favorite foods. When she entered, she asked the receptionist which room Lee was in and went on her way, giddy about the news she was about to give him.

She took the stairs until she reached the fifth floor of the hospital. The smile she had on when she entered had never left her face. She couldn't believe that she had this opportunity, and hoped that her mentor would be proud of her.

"-status on his condition?" She overheard one of the nurses walking in the opposite direction as her say. Sakura did not think much of it and kept on walking.

"Not good. His whole left side is broken and when he came to us, he had lost so much blood that we were barely able to keep him alive. He went into anaphylactic shock afterwards." The other nurse said gravely.

"What is his name again?" The other nurse asked.

"The one in room 502? Oh, I believe it is Rock Lee. He was fighting in the Chūnin Exams." She finished. Sakura completely froze at this, looking back down the hall as if the nurse would suddenly catch herself because she made a mistake. "From the looks of it," the nurse continued, "it would be a miracle if he can ever resume his career as a ninja."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock at the news. She then picked up her pace towards room 502, almost breaking the door down as she threw it open. Laying on the bed, in a peaceful unconsciousness, was her mentor and one of her closest friends. His skin looked even paler than it usually did and his breathing was labored. Bandages adorned his entire left side, even covering up part of his face.

Sakura let out a quiet sob as she looked at his state. Her purpose of being there forgotten, she placed the takeout food on the table and pulled up a chair next to him, taking his uninjured right hand into both of her own and holding them up like a prayer. It couldn't be that Lee had to quit his career as a ninja. No one, absolutely _no one_ , had worked as hard as he had for his title. After everything he had accomplished, there was no way that it could be taken away with just one battle. She could not imagine a world where Lee had not found her and taught her everything she had known about perseverance and determination, and the will to never give up.

If anyone deserved the title of a great shinobi, it was Rock Lee.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she did not hear the door open surreptitiously behind her. It was when the intruder entered into the room that Sakura finally felt their chakra signature, which was a very familiar one. Sakura sprung from her chair, one hand in her weapons pouch, and turned with a fierce glare towards the redhead who stood in front of her.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked with an unexpected calmness. Gaara looked completely unfazed as his eyes focused on the figure behind her. Sakura looked behind her to make sure that his sand had not crept up on Lee while she was not looking.

"You never answered my question." His raspy voice responded.

Sakura raised an eyebrow and relaxed a little. "What question?" She asked suspiciously.

Gaara looked irritated at the fact that he had to explain it to her. "The question I asked you and the Jōnin instructor." Gaara responded as he took a step forward. Sakura went back into her defensive stance, but refused to back down. " _Why do you care so much about him?_ " He emphasized every word as if there was venom on the tip of his tongue.

Sakura fought the urge roll her eyes. Why was he still on about that? "Isn't it obvious?" She asked tauntingly. She then stopped herself from saying more. No, it might not have been obvious to him. She saw something in him that reminded her of Naruto – that loneliness and ostracism of an abandoned child. Sakura dropped her cool exterior and answered him truthfully. "I care about him because I'm his friend."

"Friend?" Gaara whispered the word as if it was a secret that he did not want people to hear.

"Yeah…you look out for your friends, just as they would look out for you." Sakura said with a smile as she turned herself completely towards Lee's bed. It somehow did not feel that she was in the presence of an enemy anymore. "Your friends are there for you when you are feeling sad and lonely, and will pick you up and give you the confidence you need to stay strong. They're the only ones who will be blatantly honest with you, but that's because they love you, and you love them because of everything they do for you." Sakura finished.

She then turned towards where Gaara was standing to see if she had made some sort of impact on him, only to see that he had completely vanished. There was a trail of his sand in his wake, scattered over the hospital floor. Sakura looked down sadly for not being able to get through to him. She couldn't find it within herself to forgive what he had done to Lee, but there was a part of her telling her that he could not help it. It was all he had known growing up: how to hate and how to kill. At least, she thought so, anyway.

There was something that resonated with her pity when she looked at Gaara. To know that there was someone who did not even know the concept of love and care hurt her deeply. It did not matter that Gaara looked like a monster to everyone else. To her, he just looked like a little neglected boy trapped inside the box of society's expectations.

The body beside her stirred a little bit as a groan resonated through the room. Sakura snapped her head towards her mentor, who fidgeted slightly under his blankets. Lee opened his eyes to see Sakura hovering over him, a relieved look on her face.

"Lee! Lee, can you hear me?" She asked as she clutched the side of his bed. His dark eyes turned towards her and he made his best effort to give her a lazy smile. "Thank goodness you're-" She was cut off when his eyes slowly shut out of exhaustion, leaving her talking to herself once more. She reached out and touched his hair and tried to restrain a sob from escaping her mouth. Lee just looked so…broken. No matter how many times he was pushed down or tired or beaten, he had always gotten back up. Seeing him that way took every ounce of confidence Sakura had within her.

Suddenly, a nurse entered the room. "Excuse me, ojou-chan. The visiting hours are almost over." She notified. Sakura nodded in understanding without turning to see her, so the nurse left quietly.

Sakura swallowed back her cry as she forced herself to smile for her injured friend. She patted his head fondly. "Goodbye Lee. I'll come back soon, okay?" She whispered. Her only response was the deathly silence of the room, so she swiftly made her departure. When she exited the hospital, she realized how dark it had gotten. She felt a sudden rush of lethargy from the day's events, and immediately wished more nothing more than a warm shower and some of her mother's cooking.

Sakura trudged her way down the street towards her house, distracting her tired thoughts with the pleasant chirping of the crickets and the beautiful luminescence of the moon. She breathed in the fresh air of Konoha's streets and allowed it to relax her nerves. All the stress she was taking on, from the upcoming second chance to Lee's fatal injuries, was finally getting to her, and no matter how much she tried to run from it, it would always come back to eat away at her consciousness.

Sakura was startled out of her thoughts at the sound of maniacal laughter that penetrated the stillness of Konoha's night. Sakura shook from a chill that she felt wash over her as she turned towards the source of the noise. A bit in the distance, walking towards her from another end of the street, were two figures. One seemed to be supporting the other slowly as they struggled to move the other on their feet. Sakura could not make out who they were, but from the looks of their silhouettes, they were most definitely female.

"I don't want to go back, I still have one more game to play!" One of the women shouted as she tried to stagger away from the other. Sakura could tell by her slurred speech that she was drunk.

"No! You have to stop this before you completely go bankrupt!" The other cried out in exasperation. Sakura's ears perked at this voice; it was someone whom she knew.

"I won't go bankrupt! I'm the best gambler there is!" The woman yelled as she tried to regain her composed posture.

As the two figures came closer, Sakura was able to make out their figures in the lamplight. Her eyes widened as her suspicion was proved correct, because out of the shadows stepped none other than Shizune, who was supporting a blonde woman that had her hair tied into two ponytails.

"Tsunade-sama, you know what happens when you drink too much." Shizune said. "I always have to end up dragging you back to the hotel." Shizune grumbled afterwards. Tsunade seemed to hear this, but before she could say anything, Sakura decided to jump in.

"Sh-Shizune-san?" Sakura asked in a tentative voice. Shizune's head turned towards her, at first confused about who was calling her. Upon seeing the characteristic pink hair, she knew immediately who it was.

"Ah, Sakura-chan!" Shizune greeted fondly as she repositioned the woman on her shoulders so that she would not fall. "What are you doing outside so late at night?" She asked curiously.

"I'm just on my way back from the hospital." Sakura said as she trailed off when looking at the unkempt blonde. "Is she alright?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, yes, she's fine. She just had a little too much to drink." Shizune said, that last few words coming out scornfully. Sakura's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to inspect the woman's face closer.

When the blonde woman lifted her head, Sakura almost staggered back in embarrassment. Slung over Shizune's shoulder was Senju Tsunade, the greatest medical ninja to ever grace Konoha. Sakura could not believe that she did recognize the name right away, but the woman before her did not fit the description of someone as old as Senju Tsunade was supposed to be.

The woman's frazzled blonde hair fell carelessly over both of her shoulders and almost shaded her honey brown eyes. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy pink from the alcohol she had drunk, giving her what seemed to be an even younger complexion. Sakura forced her eyes not to trail lower to the woman's breasts, because they seemed to be the most prominent aspect of her body. However, Sakura was not vulgar and would not violate one's privacy.

"Oi, little girl," Tsunade called to her. Sakura's face flushed as she looked directly into Tsunade's eyes. Tsunade's arm lazily unwrapped itself from Shizune's neck as she practically stumbled towards her. "why aren't you looking where you're supposed to, eh?" She asked. Sakura's face bore an even darker shade of pink than her hair.

"W-W-Wha-" Sakura could not finish before she was engulfed in a hug by the older woman, crushing Sakura completely into her chest. At that moment, Sakura believed she would faint, both from embarrassment and lack of air. Sakura struggled against Tsunade, but the older woman kept an iron grip around her shoulders. She could feel herself suffocating until Tsunade was pried from her by Shizune.

"Tsunade-sama! How crude!" Shizune cried as she moved to help Sakura up. "I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan. Tsunade-sama usually isn't like this."

"I-I'm alright." Sakura said as she panted in order to get air in her lungs. "Shizune-san? Why are you still in the village? I thought you said your stay was only temporary…" Sakura asked.

Shizune broke a sweat and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. "Well, you see, we usually never stay this long in Konoha. However," Shizune started as she turned a stern glare towards Tsunade, who puffed her cheeks and looked away, "Tsunade-sama decided to stay here in order to try to win all of the bets in the village. You see, with Chūnin and Jōnin Exams, spectators from all of the lands place bets on who they think is going to advance. Tsunade thought that it was a great way to make money." Shizune moved in closer to Sakura's ear. "But actually, all Tsunade-sama's been doing is losing it."

"I heard that, Shizune!" Tsunade called. Shizune just rolled her eyes in discontent.

"Anyway, we're leaving tonight because the next round will not start for another month. We'll be back by then." She said. "Come on, Tsunade-sama. Good night, Sakura-chan!" Shizune said as she collected Tsunade and started to walk off.

In a spur of the moment decision, Sakura called out to them. "Wait!" Shizune turned around and Tsunade glanced at her from her periphery. Sakura hadn't thought her entire plan out, but she knew what she wanted to do. "Please," Sakura pleaded as she got down on her knees, "take me with you."

Shizune and Tsunade both displayed their own version of shock. The raised eyebrow of the blonde woman almost sapped all of Sakura's confidence out of her, but she persisted with her goal.

"You…want to come with us?" Shizune asked. Sakura nodded her head fervently. "Why?" Shizune asked in a soft tone.

"I…I need to get stronger. But…i-it's not just that! I have goals that I want to achieve and I need training in order to do it. I have a chance to compete again in the exams soon, but I won't be able to pass the qualification at my current state." Sakura said.

"So why do you want our help?" Tsunade asked soberly. Sakura could feel the fingers digging into her palms slip because of sweat.

"I've heard so much about the legendary Sanin, specifically the strength of Senju Tsunade. You also have the most extensive medical background in the entire Land of Fire. That's something that I want to learn. I want to learn to be a medic so I can protect those closest to me and I will have a purpose greater than fighting on my team."

There was a long silence, and Sakura almost took it as a rejection without any words. While she wallowed in her own self-anguish, she did not notice that Tsunade had gotten closer to her. She kneeled on one leg and looked down on the girl in front of her. Tsunade had seen her fight in the preliminaries. She had potential, she would give her that. The way she had stood up that Hyuuga male showed her grit and resilience to fate. Tsunade could see the whole of Sakura's past in her eyes. She was born a civilian, and didn't care much about the kunoichi title until she had actually become a genin. Because of this late realization, she had worked harder to improve herself, but it was hard to come back from a childhood lacking in at least substantial training, especially if one was not originally from a shinobi family.

She could see that she was trying so hard to make up for who she used to be.

"You said that you had other goals than just becoming stronger." Tsunade started. Sakura looked up to face her, her emerald eyes glistening in the moonlight. "What are they?"

Sakura gulped. "Above anything else, it is to protect my family and my village. I want to be someone who can be relied on rather than a liability. Also…there is someone I want to prove something to. Someone who thinks that I can't be who I want to be through hard work."

Tsunade sighed. "It's the Hyuuga male, isn't it?" Tsunade asked. Sakura nodded. "Tch, those stuck up little-"

"Tsunade-sama!"

"Oh calm down, Shizune." She turned back towards Sakura. "So, you want to try to prove to him that hard work trumps genetics?" She asked.

"More like trumps fate." Sakura replied.

"I see." Tsunade said as she stood up. "I hate people who think that they can predict everything that happens. If we were able to do that, so many innocent lives would not have been lost. They think that it's someone's _destiny_ to die in battle." Tsunade scowled. "I think you're goals are achievable, kid." Sakura's eyes brightened at the news. "However…I'm not the one you should be asking for help."

Sakura immediately felt a weight fall onto her, crushing her chest painfully. Sakura gave a deep sigh of resignation, but did not say anything further.

"I'm sorry, kid." Tsunade said. "But I'm long past being a medical ninja. I do any of that anymore. If you want to learn the skills, I would suggest someone in the village that is still in the practice."

"But they're not the best of the best, like you are!" Sakura cried out spontaneously. She then immediately held her tongue in reverence.

"I've made my decision." She stated. She then placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "But I wish you the best of luck in the exams. If you truly have a chance to get back in, you need to snatch it any way you can." She said as she got up and started to walk away, leaving Sakura on the ground. Sakura, while in deep conflict, refused to cry. Things weren't always going to go her way, and she had begun to learn to accept that.

"Wait, Tsunade-sama." Shizune said before Tsunade had walked too far down the road without her. "If you're not going to train Sakura-chan," she started as she kneeled next to Sakura, "then I will."

"Shizune…"

"Please, Tsunade-sama. She wants to learn from you, and if you're not going to teach her, I'm the closest person she can come to. And I'm willing to do it." Shizune bowed before her, and Sakura copied her action.

"…So what are you supposing I do?" Tsunade asked.

"Oversee our training together. Please, Tsunade-sama. This would be a great learning opportunity for both Sakura and I." Shizune finished. Sakura felt so touched that Shizune was willing to go against her mentor in order to teach her that she was practically shaking with excitement.

Tsunade was silent for a few moments. "Fine…you may stay." Tsunade consented. Sakura wanted to jump with joy, but restrained herself.

"Thank you so much." Both Sakura and Shizune said simultaneously.

"However, I will have to supervise each training session. If Sakura is to learn medical ninjutsu, then she is to learn it right." Tsunade demanded. Although this could be implied as a questioning of Shizune's capabilities, the younger woman just smiled and nodded.

"Perhaps it's better if we stay in the village then. The best medical facilities are to our disposal here." Shizune proposed.

Tsunade did not seem to like anything about that idea, since she didn't like spending much time in her home village. In spite of this, Tsunade sighed and consented, only if Shizune was willing to pay for all of her booze. Shizune visibly paled at that, but thought of Sakura's sake over her own.

"Go home and rest up, Sakura-chan." Shizune said as she touched the tip of the girl's nose. "Training begins tomorrow in front of the hospital, nine o'clock sharp."

"Hai!" Sakura said as she bowed to her new mentor. "Thank you, Shizune-sensei." Shizune blushed and became giddy about the novel honorific. Sakura then turned towards Tsunade. "Thank you as well, Tsunade-sama." After that, Sakura promptly got up and left, running home in order to burn off her exuberance. She smiled the entire way home, but kept her excitement to herself in order to avoid other irritating other people at night.

Sakura knew that she would need more training than what she received from Tsunade and Shizune. However, she was now one step closer in achieving everything she wanted to prove to the world: the weak were not born weak, and the strong were not born strong.

She would make sure to exemplify that fact.

* * *

"I didn't think you would accept, Tsunade-sama." Shizune asked as she happily walked along the street with Tsunade, almost with a skip in her step.

"Well, when you have a student willing to teach another, a mentor has to at least be there to make sure that they do it right." Tsunade replied.

"Do you really think I'm incapable of teaching her on my own? Or is there another reason to why you're staying behind?" Shizune asked with a sly smile.

Tsunade's lips quirked up a little bit. "Of course I trust you enough to train her. I want to be there because that girl interests me." Tsunade said as she looked into the dark void that was the end of the street. "There is something about her that tells me that she has dormant potential within her that has been oppressed this entire time. If she is weak now, it is because she has not had a chance to tap into it."

Shizune hummed. "So what if your hunch is incorrect?" Shizune asked, not even believing her own statement.

"Shizune, I'm disappointed. My hunches are never incorrect." Tsunade said proudly.

If this was gambling with money, then Shizune would beg to differ. But when Tsunade gambled with her trust in people, it was as she said, her hunches were never wrong.

 **Hello everybody! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I have a couple of things to say below, so** _please read:_

 **Please understand that I did not put Sakura back into the exams because of popular demand. There are people that she is going to meet along the way of improving herself that need this essential step. This story is going exactly the way I had planned it to and even though I appreciate all of the comments that you give, I want this story to be written from my ideas.** **  
**

 **Also, with her loss before, it will only strengthen her resolve to fight for a spot this time.**

 **Anyway, if you have any questions or comments, please don't be afraid to review below and let me know your thoughts! I always love reading them!**

 **Special thanks to: Butterflygrin, Shadow werewolf54, Aka, EVA-Saiyajin, theclassifiedwords, Shy911, Chimera-kuun, Aztrel, Twisted Musalih, ** **Marisilveirad , Cruisegirl86, and BoycottingLove!**

 ***** Just to let you know, I may or may not be starting another story soon. Please keep on the lookout for that!**

 **I hope that all of you are having a fantastic day wherever you are! See you guys next time!**


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